Willem II's long suffering fans finally saw their side claim a point at home this season but a draw with Excelsior did little to alleviate their struggles at the foot of the Eredivisie.

The Koning Willem II Stadion faithful had seen seven defeats from seven home matches before this evening and that looked like becoming eight when Kaj Ramsteijn put the Rotterdam side ahead six minutes into the second period.

But Yevgeni Levchenko struck two minutes from time to give a little respite to the home support - though their side remained six points adrift at the bottom of the table and without a win all season.

As befits a side with such a poor home record, Willem II started very much on the back foot, with Jordy Clasie going close after a fine solo run after 13 minutes.

Six minutes later Excelsior came even closer as Tim Vincken's shot from inside the area cleared off the line by Willem II midfielder Niek Vossebelt.

The hosts came into it more as the half went on, with Arjan Swinkels sending a lobbed effort over the bar before Cees Paauwe kept the scores level with a double stop.

First he parried a shot from Rowin van Zaanen and he was somewhat fortunate as he was able comfortably to hold Vossebelt's header from the rebound.

Excelsior took the lead in the 51st minute when Ryan Koolwijk's free-kick from the right presented Ramsteijn with a simple close-range opportunity, which he took with a right-footed strike.

Willem II came close to equalising through Andreas Lasnik's 20-yard effort after 68 minutes, but the elusive leveller finally arrived when Levchenko got on the end of Denis Halilovic's cross from the right to finish right footed.