The struggling visitors had Daniel Rijaard sent off late on for a second bookable offence.

Feyenoord, meanwhile, were firmly in control within 35 minutes after goals from Ali Boussaboun, Serginho Greene and Salomon Kalou.

Boussaboun’s second, a Dirk Kuijt double, and an injury-time goal from Jonathan de Guzman completed the rout, while Rudy Jansen netted a consolation for Heracles.

AZ Alkmaar also enjoyed a home win, with their 2-0 victory over Roda JC getting their title challenge back on track following two draws.

Denny Landzaat gave AZ a first-half lead while Danny Koevermans came off the bench to seal the points in the final minute and keep AZ third, three points behind the leaders.

Ajax were again ruing their inconsistency after a 1-0 defeat at Utrecht, although the Amsterdam giants can point to a controversial late decision.

Television replays suggested that Thomas Vermaelen’s strike was unfairly ruled out for offside, meaning Dwight Tiendalli’s 59th-minute effort proved to be the only goal of the game.

Utrecht climb above Ajax into sixth, while Heerenveen rose to fifth with a 2-0 home win against RBC Roosendaal.

RBC remain rooted to the bottom after a goal in each half from Arnold Bruggink and substitute Hjalte Bo Norregaard.