Pereiro double leads PSV to victory against Ajax

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Gaston Pereiro emerged as a new hero as PSV Eindhoven re-established hegemony in the Dutch league by ending the unbeaten run of Ajax Amsterdam with a 2-1 away win on Sunday.

Uruguayan Pereiro scored both goals for the champions, who have shrugged off their early season slumber to move within two points of joint leaders Ajax and Feyenoord. Pereiro, playing in place of Maxime Lestienne who had to pull out of the match for what PSV called “family reasons”, netted after seven minutes only for the lead to be cancelled out three minutes later when Amin Younes scored his first goal for Ajax.

PSV dominated proceedings and Davy Propper hit the woodwork in the second half before Pereiro snatched a 79th minute winner.

“We showed that we could dominate,” PSV coach Phillip Cocu said. “But I didn’t expect that we would do it so well.” Feyenoord had a gruelling match at bottom placed De Graafschap, coming from a goal down at halftime to squeeze out a 2-1 victory with goals from Michiel Kramer and Eljero Elia. An own goal from Sven van Beek handed the strugglers an early advantage but Feyenoord hit back to move into a share of the lead on 19 points with Ajax.

Heracles Almelo, who won 2-0 on Friday against Heerenveen, are third on 18 and PSV fourth on 17. De Graafschap are still yet to win a league game this season, with a solitary point from their opening eight outings. Vitesse Arnhem went on the rampage against Groningen with a 5-0 victory that moved them up to sixth place, five points off the pace.

Vincent Janssen scored twice in the second half as AZ Alkmaar recorded a 3-1 home win over Twente Enschede in the late Sunday encounter.

(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Mark Meadows)