Eredivisie wrap: VVV step up survival battle

Eredivisie strugglers VVV Venlo and De Graafschap both recorded much-needed victories on Saturday.

VVV, who sit third from bottom on the table, won their third match in succession after a 3-1 home success against Heracles.

Goals to Uche Nwofor and Yannick Wildschut in the first 30 minutes delighted the Seacon Stadion De Koel crowd but Lerin Duarte’s response on the stroke of half-time kept the visitors in the match.

And they threatened to win a point for most of the second half, with the match not sealed until Japanese forward Robert Cullen struck in injury time.

De Graafschap lifted themselves off the bottom of the table with a 2-0 win at Roda JC.

Rydell Poepon bagged the opener on 26 minutes before Soufian El Hassnaoui made sure of the win with his 91st-minute effort.

In other matches, Leroy George struck a double as NEC Nijmegen ended a run of four successive defeats with a 4-0 thumping of FC Groningen.

NAC Breda also won 4-0 at home, with Santi Kolk netting twice in their thumping of ADO Den Haag.