Leading duo fire blanks

By Berend Scholten

PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar drew a blank in the long-awaited top-of-the-table encounter at the Alkmaarderhout.

Freescoring teams
The two sides have dominated the Eredivisie season, scoring over 100 goals between them as they have opened up a sizable lead over third-placed AFC Ajax. But neither team could break the deadlock on Saturday in a fiercely contested encounter in Alkmaar.

Defenders dominate
The home side took the early initiative, with defender Tim De Cler shaving the post with a long-range shot, before the visitors began to dominate. In a game for defenders, PSV centre-back Wilfred Bouma saw his effort cleared off the goalline by Danny Landzaat as Alkmaar held on.

NAC haunted
The stalemate allowed Ajax to close the gap to Alkmaar to six points as Nourdin Boukhari came back to haunt NAC Breda. The Morocco striker spent last season on loan at the Fuji Film Stadium and took just three minutes to score on his return. Yuri Cornelisse looked to have earned his side a share of the spoils before Boukhari found space inside the box with two minutes remaining and shot between Davy Schollen's legs.

Hofs hat-trick
Feyenoord enjoyed an emphatic win against Willem II as they racked up seven goals for the second successive week. Following last week's 7-2 victory at De Graafschap, Nicky Hofs scored a hat-trick and Dirk Kuijt took his season's tally to 19 with two goals, while Cory Gibbs and Bruno Basto were also on target.

Heerenveen rise
SC Heerenveen returned to fifth after edging a five-goal thriller at Roda JC. Mika Väyrynen scored twice to open up a 2-0 lead and although Sekou Cissé pulled one back, Lasse Nilsson restored the two-goal cushion on 78 minutes. Pa Modou Kah scored to ensure a frantic last three minutes but the visitors held on.

Vitesse held
FC Utrecht are level with Heerenveen after second-half substitute Dwight Tiendalli's solitary goal proved sufficient against RBC Roosendaal, while SBV Vitesse drop two places following their disappointing goalless draw at strugglers FC Groningen. NEC Nijmegen and ADO Den Haag also shared the points after a 1-1 draw.

Den Bosch defeat
Elsewhere, Sharbel Touma, Blaise N'Kufo and Daniel Majstorovic were all on target as FC Twente came from behind to win 3-1 against RKC Waalwijk. At the foot of the table De Graafschap earned an important 2-0 victory at bottom side FC Den Bosch.