Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ajax won its second-straight match 1 defeat of man Excelsior at the Amsterdam Arena.
Jeroen Verhoeven had given Ajax a two-goal lead in the first half as Samuel Scheimann was sent off for Excelsior in the 38th minute.
Despite playing down a man, Excelsior was able to pull a goal back through Darren Maatsen just before halftime, but the home side responded with two goals in the second half. Miralem Sulejmani converted a penalty kick in the 63rd minute and Nicolas Lodeiro added a fourth goal just four minutes later.
Ajax, with two straight wins, moves into a tie with Twente for third place in the Dutch top flight with 27 points apiece. Excelsior remains tied with Venlo for last place with just seven points.
Elsewhere on Saturday, David Texeira provided a hat trick to help Groningen draw 3-3 with NEC, Roda edged De Graafschap, 2-1, at De Vijverberg for its third win in a row, and Den Haag topped NAC 3-0.
And on Friday, Heracles demolished Venlo with a 7-0 thrashing, handing the bottom-feeders their third-straight loss.
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