Eredivisie Wrap: Vitesse end winless run, Ajax extend lead

Vitesse ended a five-match winless run in the Eredivisie by beating RKC Waalwijk 3-1, while Ajax extended their lead at the top on Sunday.

Peter Bosz’s side have slipped off the pace in the race for the Dutch top-flight crown and were trailing at the break to relegation-threatened RKC.

But Kenny Anderson’s opener was eclipsed after the break by goals from Mike Havenaar, Valeri Kazaishvili and Christian Twasam.

Vitesse remain eight points behind leaders Ajax, who ran out 4-0 winners against AZ to move six points clear at the top.

Siem de Jong set the tone with his seventh league goal of the campaign after just four minutes and the hosts ran riot after the interval.

Lerin Duarte scored twice, sandwiching Ricardo Kishna’s first goal for the club as the defending champions made it 13 league games unbeaten and bounced back from the 3-0 UEFA Europa League defeat against Salzburg on Thursday.

Second-placed Twente lost ground after a 2-2 home draw to Feyenoord.

It could have been worse for Michel Jansen’s charges, who were 2-0 down with 22 minutes remaining.

Italian forward Graziano Pelle netted his 22nd goal of the season in all competitions to hand the visitors the lead, which was doubled after the break by Jean-Paul Boetius.

Luc Castaignos reduced the deficit midway through the second half and Cuco Martina struck at the death to ensure the spoils were shared.

Elsewhere, Johan Martensson’s late goal earned Utrecht a 1-0 win over Groningen.