Frank Demouge scored twice as FC Utrecht came from behind to convincingly beat VVV Venlo in their Eredivisie clash at Nieuw Galgewaard.

Barry Maguire opened the scoring for the visitors in the ninth minute before Michael Uchebo doubled VVV's advantage.

Davy Bulthuis pulled one back for the home side just before the half-hour mark, with Demouge scoring a goal in each half to put the game out of VVV's reach, before Alexander Gerndt's late strike rubbed salt into the wound. The result leaves VVV stuck in the relegation zone while Utrecht moved into 11th place and closer to safety.

Despite the high-scoring nature of the game, the match was not of the highest quality, with both sides making plenty of mistakes.

Utrecht goalkeeper Rob Van Dijk could have done better when Maguire lobbed the ball over him to score the first goal in the opening 10 minutes.

Uchebo's strike for the second was better, as the striker beat defender Jan Wuytens to shoot into the bottom left-hand corner from the edge of the area in the 21st minute.

The home side then mounted a fightback, with Bulthuis sliding the ball home from close range eight minutes later before Demouge drew the scores level at 2-2 in the 37th minute with a simple prod.

After the break, VVV almost regained the lead when Maguire headed over the bar but it was Utrecht who took their opportunity soon after when Demouge fired into the bottom corner in the 58th minute.

Substitute Gerndt then added the home side's fourth in the 83rd minute to put the game out of VVV's reach and leave them six points from safety.