Ajax beats Feyenoord 5-1 in Dutch league

Nov 1, 2009 - 4:31 PM AMSTERDAM(AP) -- Demy de Zeeuw scored twice for Ajax in a 5-1 win over a Feyenoord side which finished the match with only nine men in the Dutch league on Sunday.

The result leaves third-place Ajax three points behind league leader FC Twente, which beat Roda 2-1 on Saturday, with the two teams meeting in Enschede in a week's time. PSV remains in second, two points behind Twente, while Feyenoord is a distant fourth, nine points off the pace.

Feyenoord created some good chances but the game remained deadlocked until De Zeeuw struck three minutes before the break with a shot that took a deflection off defender Leroy Fer.

A minute later, Feyenoord's Stefan Babovic appeared to elbow Jan Vertonghen in the face while leaping to head a ball, and was red-carded.

Ajax looked confident after the break and Urby Emanuelson blasted a shot into the corner to make it 2-0 before further goals from Gregory van der Wiel and De Zeeuw put the result beyond doubt. Denny Laandzaat pulled a goal back for Feyenoord with a long-distance lob that Ajax keeper Maarten Stekelenburg misjudged.

In the closing minutes, Feyenoord goalkeeper Rob van Dijk was shown a red card for tripping Ajax striker Luis Suarez inside the area on a breakaway. Suarez converted the resulting penalty.

PSV beat Vitesse 1-0 on Saturday.

In other matches it was VVV-Venlo 1, NAC Breda 1; AZ Alkmaar 1, FC Groningen 0; SC Heerenveen 3, ADO The Hague 0; RKC Waalwijk, Willem II; Heracles Almelo 3, FC Utrecht 1; Sparta Rotterdam 2, NEC Nijmegen 0.