Enschede, Netherlands (My Sportsbook) - Twente revived its fading title hopes on Sunday with a 2-1 win over 10-man Groningen at Arke Stadion, while leaders AZ Alkmaar finished 0-0 with Feyenoord. Groningen was reduced to 10 men just 12 minutes into the game as Andreas Granqvist was sent off, and the home side went in front in the 34th minute through Eljero Elia. They maintained their one-goal advantage until the 72nd minute when Peter Wisgerhof found the back of the net, while Marcus Berg pulled one back for Groningen with a minute to play. The visitors had their hopes of leaving with all three points severely damaged in the 12th minute when Granqvist was sent off for deliberately handling the ball to prevent Kenneth Perez from getting in on goal. The subsequent free kick forced a good save from goalkeeper Luciano, while Perez followed up the play by smashing the ball off the crossbar. Gonzalo Garcia should have put Groningen up when he hit the crossbar from a few yards out, but the miss would prove costly as the home side grabbed the lead before halftime. Ronnie Stam crossed to Elia and he beat the keeper with an acrobatic bicycle kick, while Twente continued to pressure in the second half as Wisgerhof headed home a Perez free kick to make it 2-0. Berg grabbed a goal for Groningen in the 89th minute, but it wasn't enough to prevent Twente from extending its unbeaten run at home to 18 games. Roda got second-half goals from Andres Oper and Sekou Cisse to beat Den Haag 2-0, and Utrecht finished 0-0 with last-placed Volendam.
|