Eredivisie: NEC Nijmegen 1 VVV Venlo 2

15 February 2013 23:11

VVV Venlo gave their Eredivisie survival hopes a boost on Friday with a gritty 2-1 win on the road at NEC Nijmegen.

The win, just Venlo's fourth of the season and first in seven league games, came after the visitors found themselves in familiar territory when Nick van der Velden put NEC ahead after just six minutes at Goffertstadion.

Uche Nwofor produced a prompt reply, however, collecting Barry Maguire's pass to slot home an equaliser just five minutes later.

Ton Lokhoff's side had to wait until the 72nd minute to snare the winner, which came via Dutch midfielder Bryan Linssen following another Maguire assist.

Venlo stay in the relegation zone in 17th place on 19 points but have bridged the gap to the safety of 15th spot, currently occupied by Roda JC, to two points.

Having seen their three-match winning streak snapped, NEC stay seventh, 10 points shy of fourth spot and a subsequent Europa League spot.