FC Utrecht held on with 10 men to beat De Graafschap 1-0 at the De Vijverberg.
Cas Peters had an early opportunity for De Graafschap as he found some space in the centre of the box but his effort was well saved by Robin Ruiter.
Bart Ramselaar wasted two chances for Utrecht before Nacer Barazite was denied after he ventured into the home side's area.
Utrecht went ahead as Patrick Joosten pulled the ball back to Rico Strieder, who struck the ball from outside the box beyond Hidde Jurjus.
In the second half, Peters had two chances that were blocked by the Utrecht defence before Sebastien Haller dragged a shot wide that would have doubled the away side's lead.
However, Utrecht gave the bottom side some hope as Mark van der Maarel was sent off with two yellow cards within two minutes as the away side had to play the final 20 minutes with 10 men.
It made little difference as Utrecht held on to win to move into eighth in the Eredivisie while De Graafschap still wait for their first home win of the season.
Nathan Staples
