PSV back in the box seat

By Berend Scholten

PSV Eindhoven returned to the Eredivisie summit with an emphatic 4-0 victory against NAC Breda on Saturday.

Hesselink double
Following AZ Alkmaar's 1-1 draw against NEC Nijmegen, a result which saw the club's ten-match winning run brought to an end, PSV returned to the top of the table with victory at the Philips stadium. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink put the champions on course for victory with two first-half goals on his return from injury.

Diverging fortunes
PSV continued to press after the interval, but it was not until the 71st minute that they sealed the win when NAC captain Rob Penders deflected Ji-Sung Park's cross into his own net. His PSV counterpart Mark van Bommel made it four five minutes later with a quickly taken free-kick that caught goalkeeper Davy Schollen cold.

Ajax end jinx
PSV now lead the standings, two points ahead of AZ and five clear of AFC Ajax, who ended a run of five successive defeats in Utrecht with a 2-0 triumph. Utrecht-born Wesley Sneijder broke the deadlock on 66 minutes and Ryan Babel added the second in the final seconds as Ajax extended their unbeaten run to nine league games.

Gluscevic goals
Igor Gluscevic scored two late goals as SBV Vitesse came from behind to defeat Feyenoord. Coach Ruud Gullit brought in four players during the winter break, but they could do nothing as substitute Gluscevic scored two goals in as many minutes to overturn Dirk Kuijt's 49th-minute strike. The result puts Vitesse a point behind their opponents in fourth.

Waalwijk win
SC Heerenveen are now level with Feyenoord following a 2-1 victory against FC Den Bosch. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Georgios Samaras were both on target, before Marcel Cas scored Den Bosch's first goal in five matches on 71 minutes, but a second proved elusive. The result leaves Den Bosch second from bottom, a point above basement club RBC Roosendaal, who went down to a late Rick Hoogendorp strike as they were defeated 1-0 by RKC Waalwijk.

Graafschap revival
De Graafschap began the weekend at the foot of the table but lifted themselves to 16th with their second win in three games. Ilja van Leerdam and Jhon van Beukering both scored in a 2-0 reverse against Roda JC. Blaise N'Kufo was twice on target as FC Twente defeated Willem II 3-0, while FC Groningen won by the same scoreline against ADO Den Haag.