VVV Venlo injected life into their bid for survival after a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Excelsior.
Cullen's first minute goal enough to see off Excelsior
VVV Venlo injected life into their bid for Eredivisie survival after a 1-0 home success over fellow strugglers Excelsior.
Robert Cullen scored the only goal of the game inside the opening 60 seconds and Excelsior struggled to fashion a response.
The match's key moment came in the opening minute when Michael Uchebo found Japanese striker Cullen, who provided a calm finish to give the home side the lead.
VVV's Ahmed Musa was lucky to escape with a yellow card six minutes later after a crude two-footed lunge on Excelsior's Guyon Fernandez.
In the 33rd minute Nigerian Uchebo shot over from 20 yards and soon after Musa was unlucky to see his chipped effort go just wide, following good work by Balazs Toth.
Excelsior threatened more in the second half, with Fernandez setting the ball rolling with a dynamic run which ended with a shot from 10 yards which went only narrowly wide.
Musa was narrowly off target for the home side three minutes later, before Alex Pastoor's side rallied in the closing stages.
The Rotterdam team's best chance came in the 90th minute when Leen Van Steensel showed neat control to give himself a clear shooting chance, but his well-struck effort from 25 yards was just too high.
Excelsior's failure to find the target extends their dismal run of form away from home - the Kralingers have now picked up just two points from a possible 36 away from Stadion Woudestein.
