Almelo, Netherlands (My Sportsbook) - Everton scored in the opening minutes, Willy Overtoom and Mark Jan Fledderus added goals in the first 16 minutes of the second half, and Heracles held on to edge defending Eredivisie champion AZ Alkmaar 3-2 on Saturday at Polman Stadion in both teams' season opener.

Heracles led by three goals after Fledderus scored in the 61st, but AZ started to rally thanks to two goals in a 60-second span. Graziano Pelle and Mounir El Hamdaoui scored in the 77th but, after not being awarded a clear penalty, Gill Swerts and Pelle were ejected in the late stages.

Everton handed Heracles the early edge by slotting home from a tough angle in the eighth minute, Overtoom took advantage of poor defense by AZ in the 48th, and Fledderus converted a free kick in the 61st.

Pelle opened the scoring for AZ, followed by Mounir El Hamdaoui seconds later, but after Pontus Wernbloom was fouled in the area and no call was made, the AZ club fell apart in the closing minutes.

Last season's runners-up, Twente, got goals from Blaise N'Kufo to captures its first match of the season, 2-0 over Sparta.

In Saturday's other matches, Christophe Gregoire and Said Boutahar scored in the first half and Willem II went on to post a 3-1 win despite playing a man down for the final 25 minutes, and Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored in the third minutes to lead Utrecht to a 1-0 win over RKC Waalwijk.