FC Twente missed the opportunity to draw level with Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven, while Ajax beat AZ Alkmaar.
Ajax win on a day of stalemates in Holland
Steve McClaren's FC Twente missed the opportunity to draw level with Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven as they dropped points on their travels, while elsewhere Ajax were the day's only winners in Holland.
Twente could have shared top billing with PSV had they won on their trip to
Groningen but they had to settle for a point after a goalless stalemate.
In truth they rarely looked like achieving that in a game of few chances at the Euroborg. Indeed, it was Groningen who looked the more dangerous side throughout the game.
There was not much to get excited about over the 90 minutes but Groningen came within inches of going ahead just after the break.
Thomas Enevoldsen passed to Tim Matavz on the right wing and the Slovenian advanced into the penalty area before firing against the post from eight yards.
Ajax remain handily placed in third and they did their title tilt little harm with an excellent 1-0 win over
AZ Alkmaar, with the out-of-sorts champions down in seventh place this season.
Defender Gregory van der Wiel was Ajax's unlikely hero as his angled drive just past the hour mark separated the two sides.
AZ will consider themselves unfortunate to come away from the game without a share of the spoils, as David Mendes da Silva hit the bar in the first half and Mounir El Hamdaoui did likewise after the break.
Feyenoord hover just below the leading pack in fourth as they too dropped points in drawing 1-1 with
VVV Venlo.
Former Feyenoord player Patrick Paauwe endured the proverbial nightmare against his ex-club in scoring a 65th minute own goal, only for Venlo team-mate Ferry de Regt to spare his blushes when he headed home the equaliser at the near post five minutes from time.
At the opposite end of the table a forgettable 0-0 draw ensured between
Sparta Rotterdam and
ADO Den Haag.
