Bart Vriends scored the only goal shortly before being sent off in Go Ahead Eagles' 1-0 win over Willem II in the Eredivisie this evening.

Ben Sahar tried to open the scoring inside the opening five minutes, but his effort was deflected behind by the Go Ahead defenders.

The home side began to see the majority of the possession, but could not create any clear-cut chances during the first half.

Willem II were reduced to 10 men early in the second half when Jonas Heymans was booked for the second time for bringing down Jules Reimerink just outside the box.

The red card helped the hosts, as they won a corner just a few minutes later, from which Vriends headed in the opening goal.

However, the goalscorer was also given his marching orders when he was shown a straight red for punching Jordens Peters just six minutes after breaking the deadlock, ensuring that both sides were down to 10 men for the final 20 minutes.

Dries Wuytens came close to getting the visitors back on level terms inside the final 10 minutes, but his long-range free kick struck the crossbar.

Terell Ondaan also had a late shot, but his 20-yard effort was punched off the line by Erik Cummins, before the ball rebounded back of the post.

Willem II continued to push deep into stoppage time, winning a 94th-minute corner, but the chance was cleared to allow the home side the hold on for the victory.

The result moves Eagles up to 11th in the table, while Willem II sit 14th in the Dutch top flight.