Eredivisie: FC Twente show Ajax who's top.
Another weekend passes in the Netherlands and still the top 2 teams refuse to be beaten, is it possible that the Eredivisie will have it's own alternative to the Arsenal 'Invincibles' this season?
With 21 more fixtures until the end of the campaign it may just be a little optimistic to consider such a possibility, but judging by the dominant form of FC Twente and PSV Eindhoven so far it may not be at all fanciful. This last weekend saw probably the biggest league game of 2009-10 to date, with leaders FC Twente facing off to Martin Jol's free-scoring Ajax who are in third place.
Since Ajax linked up with Martin Jol in the summer, there have been high expectations for the Amsterdam team to reclaim their place at the top of the Eredivisie. They have certainly been entertaining their fans, up until last Sunday they had scored 40 goals in 12 league games- a quite phenomenal record that owes credit to the Uruguayan Luis Suárez, who has 16 goals already!
However things did not continue in that vein for Ajax when they visited FC Twente's ground, De Grolsch Veste. The last and only occasion that Ajax had failed to score in this year's Eredivisie was back on August 23rd, at home to Sparta Rotterdam. By late Sunday afternoon the tally had been doubled and cost Ajax their second defeat of the term as they went down 1-0.
The goal for FC Twente came courtesy of Bryan Ruiz. Something which should not be a surprise seeing as the Costa Rican has been outstanding since Steve McClaren purchased him in the summer for the tidy sum of €5m. A Theo Janssen free-kick from the right of the Ajax penalty area was gobbled up by Ruiz, who firmly headed in the set-piece virtually un-marked, giving him 9 league goals thus far.
With the way that Ajax have been winning games recently, it was of little surprise that FC Twente didn't have everything there own way. In fact they started the game strongly and actually hit the cross bar through the aforementioned Suárez during the first half. The most pleasing aspect for Steve McClaren however will be how his team controlled the game and protected their lead after Ruiz's strike.
What with FC Twente securing an 8th consecutive league victory, it was only apt that their nearest rivals PSV should respond in kind with their biggest win of the season. They visited ADO Den Haag, who are currently mimicking last season's fraternisation with relegation, when they were newly re-promoted to the Eredivisie.
As mentioned in previous reports on the league, PSV are now managed by McClaren's predecessor at FC Twente, Fred Rutten. As if the Eredivisie couldn't be scripted any better, Rutten's team are on a run of their own as they chase top of the table, with 10 wins from their last 11 league fixtures. The 5-1 win they racked up on Sunday means that they still trail Twente by 2 points but now lead Ajax by 4.
Special mention has to be made for the Swede Ola Toivonen, who scored 4 of PSV's goals, with the hat-trick all in the first half. The attacking midfielder is a summer signing who has acquited himself well and is now tallying a goal every other game.
Fourth placed Feyenoord continued their recent poor turn of form that has seen them drop points and get separated from the top 3. This time around they faced reigning champions AZ Alkmaar at their DSB Stadion, and the final result of 1-1 greatly reflected the old adage that the contest had been a game of 2 halves.
Whilst neither team were to be ashamed of the outcome, anything short of 3 points is a failure when considering the way that FC Twente and PSV are currently finishing matches. Feyenoord are now 11 points adrift of the summit, whereas AZ are a massive 16 and their defence is as good as over already.
Elsewhere, NAC Breda were the weekend's big movers. They took advantage of all the teams closest to them going victory-less, and with a dominant 4-0 home win over Willem II they jumped up to 6th place in the table.
The 'The Rats' have been inconsistent so far this term but in the form of a sequence of results, rather than individual ones. Their latest win means they haven't lost in 4 league games, if they can keep their heads then they could secure another Europa League spot to go with this season's.
A final thought for the Eredivisie's bottom club- RKC Waalwijk. The former top-flight stalwarts who returned this season after a 2 year wait in the Eerste Divisie (2nd division), have had very little to cheer since their come-back. Until last Saturday they had lost 11 of their first 12 matches.
Recent form has been enhanced though (of sorts), instead of losing heavily their 3 prior fixtures to Saturday had ended in 1-0 reverses. So it came to pass that RKC Waalwijk cemented a 2nd vital win of the league season and their first away from home. Their opponents were NEC, who more significantly lay a single spot above them in the relegation zone.
Only 13 games into the campaign and already we have seen what may prove to be a massive 'six-pointer', for the bottom of the table anyway. Serious doubts understandably remain over whether or not RKC Waalwijk can realistically escape their pre-ordained fate, but at least they're improving.
The improvements at FC Twente are no longer being dismissed either. The way that the Eredivisie is developing the challenge is now set for one of the Netherlands traditional big 3 teams to get in the way of Twente claiming their first title since 1926, and from halting McClaren's transformation from villain to hero..
With 21 more fixtures until the end of the campaign it may just be a little optimistic to consider such a possibility, but judging by the dominant form of FC Twente and PSV Eindhoven so far it may not be at all fanciful. This last weekend saw probably the biggest league game of 2009-10 to date, with leaders FC Twente facing off to Martin Jol's free-scoring Ajax who are in third place.
Since Ajax linked up with Martin Jol in the summer, there have been high expectations for the Amsterdam team to reclaim their place at the top of the Eredivisie. They have certainly been entertaining their fans, up until last Sunday they had scored 40 goals in 12 league games- a quite phenomenal record that owes credit to the Uruguayan Luis Suárez, who has 16 goals already!
However things did not continue in that vein for Ajax when they visited FC Twente's ground, De Grolsch Veste. The last and only occasion that Ajax had failed to score in this year's Eredivisie was back on August 23rd, at home to Sparta Rotterdam. By late Sunday afternoon the tally had been doubled and cost Ajax their second defeat of the term as they went down 1-0.
The goal for FC Twente came courtesy of Bryan Ruiz. Something which should not be a surprise seeing as the Costa Rican has been outstanding since Steve McClaren purchased him in the summer for the tidy sum of €5m. A Theo Janssen free-kick from the right of the Ajax penalty area was gobbled up by Ruiz, who firmly headed in the set-piece virtually un-marked, giving him 9 league goals thus far.
With the way that Ajax have been winning games recently, it was of little surprise that FC Twente didn't have everything there own way. In fact they started the game strongly and actually hit the cross bar through the aforementioned Suárez during the first half. The most pleasing aspect for Steve McClaren however will be how his team controlled the game and protected their lead after Ruiz's strike.
What with FC Twente securing an 8th consecutive league victory, it was only apt that their nearest rivals PSV should respond in kind with their biggest win of the season. They visited ADO Den Haag, who are currently mimicking last season's fraternisation with relegation, when they were newly re-promoted to the Eredivisie.
As mentioned in previous reports on the league, PSV are now managed by McClaren's predecessor at FC Twente, Fred Rutten. As if the Eredivisie couldn't be scripted any better, Rutten's team are on a run of their own as they chase top of the table, with 10 wins from their last 11 league fixtures. The 5-1 win they racked up on Sunday means that they still trail Twente by 2 points but now lead Ajax by 4.
Special mention has to be made for the Swede Ola Toivonen, who scored 4 of PSV's goals, with the hat-trick all in the first half. The attacking midfielder is a summer signing who has acquited himself well and is now tallying a goal every other game.
Fourth placed Feyenoord continued their recent poor turn of form that has seen them drop points and get separated from the top 3. This time around they faced reigning champions AZ Alkmaar at their DSB Stadion, and the final result of 1-1 greatly reflected the old adage that the contest had been a game of 2 halves.
Whilst neither team were to be ashamed of the outcome, anything short of 3 points is a failure when considering the way that FC Twente and PSV are currently finishing matches. Feyenoord are now 11 points adrift of the summit, whereas AZ are a massive 16 and their defence is as good as over already.
Elsewhere, NAC Breda were the weekend's big movers. They took advantage of all the teams closest to them going victory-less, and with a dominant 4-0 home win over Willem II they jumped up to 6th place in the table.
The 'The Rats' have been inconsistent so far this term but in the form of a sequence of results, rather than individual ones. Their latest win means they haven't lost in 4 league games, if they can keep their heads then they could secure another Europa League spot to go with this season's.
A final thought for the Eredivisie's bottom club- RKC Waalwijk. The former top-flight stalwarts who returned this season after a 2 year wait in the Eerste Divisie (2nd division), have had very little to cheer since their come-back. Until last Saturday they had lost 11 of their first 12 matches.
Recent form has been enhanced though (of sorts), instead of losing heavily their 3 prior fixtures to Saturday had ended in 1-0 reverses. So it came to pass that RKC Waalwijk cemented a 2nd vital win of the league season and their first away from home. Their opponents were NEC, who more significantly lay a single spot above them in the relegation zone.
Only 13 games into the campaign and already we have seen what may prove to be a massive 'six-pointer', for the bottom of the table anyway. Serious doubts understandably remain over whether or not RKC Waalwijk can realistically escape their pre-ordained fate, but at least they're improving.
The improvements at FC Twente are no longer being dismissed either. The way that the Eredivisie is developing the challenge is now set for one of the Netherlands traditional big 3 teams to get in the way of Twente claiming their first title since 1926, and from halting McClaren's transformation from villain to hero..
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