Intro:

Go Ahead Eagles defeated PEC Zwolle 3-2 in the Dutch Eredivisie on Sunday, as the visitors lose ground on the leaders and drop out of the top three.

Script:

The traditional pre-game flight of the club mascot, greeted third-placed PEC Zwolle as they visited the Go Ahead Eagles in the Dutch Eredivisie on Sunday.

The visitors were looking for all three points to lift them above Ajax into second place, but the match did not go with the billing as the hosts raced into a 2-0 lead.

Fernando Lewis broke down the left wing and crossed for Jeffrey Rijsdijk to sidefoot home the opening goal in the seventh minute.

Go Ahead Eagles doubled their advantage seven minutes later when PEC Zwolle failed to clear the ball - Lewis swiveling to volley the ball past Warner Hahn.

However, the visitors halved the deficit after 20 minutes when their corner was partially cleared.

Stefan Nijland's strike from 30 yards out left goalkeeper Erik Cummins rooted to the spot.

But the hosts responded when Jop van der Linden's pinpoint cross met an unmarked Bart Vriends - his header restoring the two-goal cushion after 36 minutes.

The second half was a scrappy affair - but PEC Zwolle lifted hopes of leaving with a point when a free-kick was headed home by Tomas Necid with 15 minutes to go.

The Go Ahead Eagles held on for a deserved 3-2 victory though - much to the delight of the players and fans.