Eredivisie pair earn play-off wins

By Berend Scholten

De Graafschap and RBC Roosendaal's bids to retain their Eredivisie status began in positive fashion, with victories in their opening round of matches in the Netherlands' promotion/relegation play-offs.

Play-off challenge
After finishing 16th and 17th respectively in the 18-team top flight, the two sides have been joined by six second division outfits and must win their four-team groups to remain in the top flight.

Volendam victory
In Group A, Roosendaal cruised to a 2-0 victory against VVV Venlo after Elvis Hammond broke the deadlock before the interval. Sammy Youssouf then sealed the win on 74 minutes but Roosendaal are not the section's early leaders after FC Volendam won 3-0 against Stormvogels/Telstar with Maarten Woudenberg, Sebastiaan Steur and Charles Dissels getting the goals.

Five-goal thriller
De Graafschap were less impressive in Group B and needed a sensational comeback to earn three points at home to FC Zwolle. The visitors looked to be cruising after a Dion Esajas double had given them a two-goal lead on 71 minutes. But three goals in the last eleven minutes, from Jhonny van Beukering, Mamadou Zongo and Ruslan Valeev, gave the home side an unlikely victory.

Weekend fixtures
In the final match, a 72nd-minute Ivan Cvetkov strike earned Helmond Sport a one-goal success at Sparta Rotterdam. Helmond will now face De Graafschap on Saturday, with Roosendaal travelling to Volendam.