Ajax was held to a 2-2 draw by
visiting AZ Alkmaar on Sunday in the Dutch league, leaving the
Amsterdam team in third place.
Johnny Heitinga gave Ajax the lead with a free kick in the 35th
minute, but AZ tied the score in the 51st when former Ajax forward
Shota Arveladze poked in a close range effort against the run of
play.
Five minutes later, a blunder by Maarten Stekelenburg gave David
Mendez da Silva the chance to give AZ a 2-1 lead. Klaas Jan
Huntelaar scored again for Ajax in the 75th by converting George
Ogararu's cross with a free header.
AZ has not won in Amsterdam in 26 years, but the team stayed one
point ahead of Ajax in the standings. PSV Eindhoven, which beat FC
Groningen 2-0 Saturday, leads the league with 43 points. AZ is next
with 36 points, followed by Ajax with 35 and FC Twente and Feyenoord
with 32 each.
Nicky Hofs and Jonathan de Guzman scored inside five minutes to
lift Feyenoord over relegation-threatened ADO The Hague 3-1.
Angelos Charisteas scored his first goal at home for Feyenoord
with an 85th-minute penalty, while Santi Kolk scored ADO's only goal
in the 90th.
Also this weekend, it was: SC Heerenveen 1, Roda JC 0; Heracles
Almelo 2, Sparta Rotterdam 3; NAC Breda 2, Excelsior Rotterdam 1;
NEC Nijmegen 2, FC Utrecht 0; Willem II 1, FC Twente 3; and Vitesse
Arnhem 3, RKC Waalwijk 1.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
