Eredivisie wrap: Vitesse run continues

Jonathan Reis has scored a brace to help Vitesse Arnhem defeat Roda JC 3-0 and take up second position in the Eredivisie.

Vitesse grabbed an early lead when midfielder Marco van Ginkel thumped his shot from outside the box into the bottom corner of Roda’s goal in the 10th minute.

Having come from behind to defeat then league-leaders PSV Eindhoven 2-1 last week, Vitesse continued their good form in the 42nd minute when Reis finished off strike partner Wilfried Bony’s fine pass to give the home side a 2-0 lead.

In the 62nd minute, Reis scored his second goal, and his eighth in all competitions this season, to complete Vitesse’s third win in a row.

The win has taken Vitesse above PSV into second position on the Eredivisie table, just one goal in terms of goal difference behind leaders Twente.

Twente and Vitesse have 34 points each, one ahead of PSV, while Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord Rotterdam are fourth and fifth respectively, with both clubs on 30.

Utrecht had Jacob Mulenga to thank for their 2-1 triumph over AZ Alkmaar, with the Zambian striker producing a classy volley with seven minutes to play to win the match.

The game looked on the way to a draw after a terrible error from Utrecht goalkeeper Robbin Ruiter in the 50th minute allowed AZ’s Etienne Reijnen to cancel out Leon de Kogel’s goal from just two minutes earlier.

But in the 83rd minute, when AZ failed to clear Tommy Oar’s corner out of their penalty area, Mulenga reacted fastest, swivelling brilliantly to volley the ball on the turn and into the net.

Utrecht remain sixth with 25 points, while AZ are 12th with 14.

Meanwhile in Groningen, four second-half minutes were enough for the home side to overcome Heracles 2-0.

After a goalless first half, Groningen took the lead in the 60th minute when Heracles defender Marko Vejinovic knocked the ball into his own net.

In the 64th minute it was 2-0 thanks to Michael de Leeuw’s goal and Groningen held on to extend their unbeaten streak to four games.

The result sees Groningen leapfrog Heracles and RKC Waalwijk into ninth position.