Eredivisie wrap: Late lapse costs Vitesse

Struggling Roda JC have denied Vitesse Arnhem a crucial victory with Mitchell Donald scoring a 95th-minute equaliser to secure a 3-3 draw.

Roda trailed by three goals after Wilfried Bony scored for Vitesse 10 minutes into the second half but a penalty from Sanharib Malki, Frank Demouge’s tap-in and Donald’s late header ensured the home side claimed a point as they look to avoid relegation.

Saturday’s draw denied Vitesse the chance to move three points clear of PSV Eindhoven in second position in the Eredivisie.

Dutch-born Japanese striker Mike Havenaar led Vitesse in the first half at Roda’s Parkstad Limburg Stadion with two goals before half-time.

Havenaar opened the scoring in the 26th minute, leaping high over Roda defender Bart Biemans to head in Renato Ibarra’s cross past goalkeeper Filip Kurto.

Biemans inadvertently took Havenaar’s legs out from under him as he jumped for the header and the 25-year-old forward looked in some pain as he landed on his back.

But Havenaar recovered to run onto Bony’s flick over Roda’s defence and smashed the ball into the net after 35 minutes.

The visitors from Arnhem had looked on track to take three points back from Kerkrade when Bony headed Ibarra’s right-wing cross home in the 55th minute.

Roda’s comeback began three minutes after the hour mark when Vitesse defender Jan Arie van der Heijden handled the ball in his own penalty area.

Malki stepped up and chipped his penalty down the middle over visiting goalkeeper Piet Velthuizen and seven minutes later Demouge snuck in at the back post to side-foot Guus Hupperts’ cross into the net.

Vitesse held onto their 3-2 lead until the second-last minute of stoppage time when a header into their penalty area was flicked onto the bar before Donald reacted fastest to nod the loose ball home.

The draw takes Roda to 27 points, three behind AZ Alkmaar, who occupy the lowest position of safety on the Eredivisie table, while Vitesse have moved into second but just one point ahead of PSV, who play league-leaders Ajax Amsterdam on Sunday.

In Almelo, Groningen claimed a 2-0 victory over hosts Heracles to rise above Heerenveen into seventh position, while in other Eredivisie results, NAC Breda defeated NEC Nijmegen 2-0 and Twente won 3-1 over ADO Den Haag.