Newz Forum: SOCCER: Dutch Eredivisie results 22/05/05

Den Bosch dropped out of the Eredivisie on Sunday after losing 3-0 at home to Utrecht.

They went into the final day level on points with De Graafschap but with a worse goal difference. The scenario was quite simple, they had to get a better result than De Graafschap, who were at home to Vitesse Arnhem, to avoid the drop and secure a place in the promotion/relegation play-offs.

They could not manage it though, as Dave van den Bergh scored twice for the visitors, who were also the beneficiaries of a Paul Verhaegh own-goal in a comprehensive 3-0 win. Den Bosch's defeat meant that De Graafschap escaped automatic relegation even though they lost 2-1 to Vitesse.

De Graafschap still face the promotion/relegation play-offs after finishing a woeful season second from bottom. They ought to have gone into the post-season on the back of a win but late goals from Fred Benson and Matthew Amoah sentenced them to another defeat. Loic Loval had given the hosts the lead in the 34th minute but they were unable to hang on.

Rafael van der Vaart signed off what could be his last league appearance for Ajax in perfect fashion as he scored the equaliser that spurred his team onto a slender 2-1 victory over FC Groningen. The midfield maestro has been strongly linked with a move away from the Amsterdam ArenA in the summer and his 64th minute strike allowed Ajax to claim their eighth consecutive home win. Van der Vaart equalised Erik Nevland's strike a minute before the break, and Daniel De Ridder hit the winner 13 minutes from time.

Co Adriaanse's last game in charge of AZ Alkmaar ended in disappointing fashion as they lost their unbeaten home record in the Eredivisie with a 3-1 defeat to RBC Roosendaal. The AZ coach is leaving for pastures new at the end of a season which has seen the team deliver beyond the fans wildest expectations, flying high in the league and advancing to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.

RBC were already destined for the promotion/relegation play-offs but will go into the series of games in great heart having secured their third consecutive victory. Goals from Robert Molenaar, Donny de Groot and Jesper Hakansson put the visitors firmly in control, before a late consolation from Stein Huysegems.

Feyenoord provided a tub-thumping end to what has been a disappointing season with an extraordinary 6-3 victory against ADO Den Haag. Ruud Gullit's side strolled to a 3-0 interval lead with goals from Bart Goor, Shinji Ono and Salomon Kalou with Dirk Kuyt added another immediately after the break. The visitors from The Hague then awoke from their slumber with goals from Sjaak Polak, Roy Stroeve and Youssef El Akchaoui pulling the score back to 4-3. However, two late goals from Kuyt helped him to a hat-trick and ensured Feyenoord could play out the last minutes of the season in some comfort.

Willem II warmed up for next weekend's Amstel Cup final against Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven with a comfortable win over RKC Waalwijk on Sunday. Robert Maaskant's side followed last week's 3-0 win at Utrecht with another three-goal salvo this weekend as Jatto Ceesay and Kevin Bobson gave the home side a half time lead before Tom Caluwe rounded off the win in the second period.

Heerenveen ended their Eredivisie season on a winning note after coming back to defeat NEC Nijmegen 2-1. Ronildo Tininho gave NEC a first-half lead to put the Nijmegen side on course for all three points. However, second-half strikes from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Michel Breuer sealed the win for the home side.

In the other games on Sunday PSV Eindhoven played out an uneventful goalless draw at Roda JC and NAC Breda drew 1-1 at home to Twente Enschede.

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