A massive drop in form caused FC Utrecht to lose connection to the Eredivisie leaders and drop in a fierce battle for the third spot. A gritty 1-0 win over NAC Breda was their first since January 12th and one Utrecht "really needed," manager Ron Jans said.
Away at Willem II - a team also riding a rough wave with seven consecutive winless games - Utrecht were looking to build form and win consecutive league games for the first time since late November.
A lacklustre start saw the visitors get in trouble early and fall behind after Turkish full-back Mickael Tirpan cleverly launched a low free-kick into the box and saw Belgian midfielder Boris Lambert fire Willem II in front.
Unable to challenge the home side successfully inside the opening 45 minutes - Sofian El Karouani caused the biggest problem in the Willem II defence - Utrecht had to look for an opening as time expired in Tilburg.
Twenty minutes after the break, former Dortmund and West Ham striker Sebastien Haller finally scored his first Eredivisie goal after coming back in January, putting Utrecht alongside with a heading effort.
Shortly after, former Manchester City academy product Noah Ohio handed Utrecht their first lead with a thunderous effort from distance, beating Thomas Didillon-Hodl with roughly 20 metres out.
Goals kept flowing at the Koning Willem II Stadion in Tilburg when Runar Rigurgeirsson got on the receiving end of a lucky Jeremy Bokila pass and beat Greek stopper Vasilios Barkas in the 83rd minute.
The existing scoreline would not last long again when substitute Adrian Blake beat Didillon-Hodl from distance with a low effort into the right-hand corner.
FC Utrecht held on to the lead and finally won two straight for the first time in over three months' time, securing their third spot for at least another week before hosting NEC in their own Stadion Galgenwaard.
Willem II continue their downfall after an impressive first half of the Eredivisie campaign, sitting in 16th with a 7-point cushion over 17th-placed RKC Waalwijk.