Sparta Rotterdam's hope to beat relegation received a major boost on Saturday after a hard-fought win at FC Groningen.
Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye played a decisive role to help Rotterdam beat their hosts 2-1 at the Hitachi Capital.
Despite not keeping a clean sheet, Okoye made four (4) saves, including diving saves, en route to helping his relegation-threatened club move within two points of safety courtesy of that important win and three points.
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The home side dominated the encounter from start to finish but there were good chances at both ends of the pitch.
However, the visitors drew the first blood when Arno Verschueren opened the scoring in the 20th minute to put Rotterdam ahead at the break.
The second half saw Rotterdam double their lead through Lennart Thy 12 minutes into the second half.
Groningen pulled one back thanks to Bjorn Meijer's well-taken strike 13 minutes from time.
But it was too late as Rotterdam held on for the win and three points that sees them move within three points of safety.