Ajax seal Champions League spot

Substitute Wesley Sneijder scored the winner with just three minutes remaining as AFC Ajax held off a stiff challenge from FC Groningen to seal a 3-2 aggregate victory in the final of the Dutch Eredivisie play-offs for a UEFA Champions League third qualifying round place.

Groningen fight
Trailing 2-0 after the first leg at the Amsterdam ArenA last week, Groningen clawed their way back into a thrilling tie at the Euroborg. Gijs Luirink had already hit the crossbar when Erik Nevland reduced the deficit just before half-time and, on the hour, Bruno Silva made it level on aggregate to send the partisan 20,000 crowd in raptures.

Late drama
It appeared enough to take the tie to extra time before Sneijder, a 64th-minute substitute, rifled in from the edge of the penalty area to ensure another UEFA Champions League campaign for Ajax. There was still time for Danny Buijs and Nourdin Boukhari to see red, but not another comeback so Groningen will now join AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord and SC Heerenveen in the UEFA Cup.

Heerenveen joy
The latter are there after completing an emphatic 6-0 victory against FC Twente in the UEFA Cup play-offs as two goals apiece from Lasse Nilsson and Danijel Pranjić helped them to a 5-0 win on the night. Twente will now face BV Vitesse with a UEFA Intertoto Cup spot at stake.