Excelsior beat Volendam in relegation six-pointer; PSV hammer Vitesse
Excelsior beat FC Volendam on Friday night in a match with huge implications for the relegation battle in the Eredivisie this season. The Rotterdam side hammered Volendam 4-0 in the Van Jonge & De Roo stadium.
Marinus Dijkhuizen's side took the lead four minutes before halftime when Lance Duijvensteijn continued his good recent form by shooting low and hard into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Volendam did not respond well to the opening goal, conceding again a minute later. A corner was headed on at the near post to Lazaros Lamprou, who was unmarked at the far post and able to smash it into the empty net.
Excelsior got there through loanee striker Troy Parrott in the second half. The youngster on loan from English side Tottenham Hotspur was sent through by Duijvestein and calmly slotted home to put the game to bed.
Lamprou was again at the far post to knock home a cross in the 67th minute, making it 4-0.
A conflict resulted in two red cards being issued at the end of the game. Parrot was given a straight red for his role in the fight. Volendam forward Safouane Karim was handed a second yellow. Excelsior midfielder Kenzo Goudmijn told ESPN after the match that Karim said that he was going to "f**k my mother." Karim apologized to Goudmijn publicly on social media after the game.
Excelsior is now six points ahead of Volendam and seems to have avoided a straight relegation spot. However, Dijkhuizen's side will have to continue to work hard to avoid a playoff spot, as RKC Waalwijk is only a point behind.
PSV edged closer to the league title and pushed Vitesse closer to an inevitable relegation on Saturday. The match finished 6-0 to Peter Bosz's side in Eindhoven.
Luuk de Jong got two of PSV’s goals. Malik Tillman, Andre Ramalho, Johan Bakayoko, and Hirving Lozano scored the other goals.
Feyenoord did their part too with a tough 0-1 victory against Fortuna Sittard. David Hancko scored in the first 20 minutes to give Arne Slot's side the victory. The gap between PSV and Feyenoord at the top is nine points, with six games left to play.
