Dutch premier league leaders AZ Alkmaar notched an easy 2-0 away win over Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday for their 9th consecutive win, extending their lead to 9 points over their nearest rivals Ajax, Xinhua reported.
At Sparta Rotterdam, the hosts, ranked at a lowly 13th on the league table, used stubborn defense to fence off the attacking play of AZ players in a goalless first half.
Into the second half, AZ, determined to secure a win, took the lead in the 65th minute thanks to a goal by Belgian forward Moussa dembele.
Twenty minutes later, Dutch forward Mounir El Hamdaoui scored the second goal of the match, sealing victory for the visitors.
In other actions on Sunday, defending champions PSV Eindhoven whipped De Graafschap 3-0, hosts Breda defeated Feyenoord 1-0, and Twente were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Utrecht.
On the league table, AZ, with 50 points out of 20 matches, were followed by Ajax (41), Twente (41) , Heerenveen (38), PSV (35) and Groningen (33).
The mighty AZ started the season with two consecutive defeats, but since then have been invincible, snatching 16 wins and two draws over the last 18 matches.