Eredivisie: VVV Venlo 1 AZ Alkmaar 4

AZ Alkmaar have moved into the top-half of the Dutch Eredivisie with a 4-1 win at VVV Venlo on Friday.

In front of 5900 fans at Seacon Stadion De Koel, AZ took the lead in the 27th minute thanks to Adam Maher’s goal.

But the home side got back into the game just after half-time as Nigerian Uche Nwofor converted and tied the scores on 52 minutes.

An 11-minute burst for AZ, with goals from Danny Gorter (55th minute), Jozy Altidore (62nd) and Etienne Reijnen (66th), blew the game apart, and VVV were unable to respond.

The victory means AZ climb temporarily to eighth in the standings while VVV remain second-last, only two points clear of Willem II, with the rest of the round still to come over the weekend.

Next week, AZ host Groningen while VVV will attempt to kick-start their safety push with a tough home encounter with Ajax.