Prior to Sunday's six-pointer, NEC and Feyenoord were just one point apart, with the latter in second place and set to secure a direct ticket to the League Phase of next year's UEFA Champions League.
With Anis Hadj Moussa back in Feyenoord's starting XI and Raheem Sterling dropped for full debutant Tobias van den Elshout, the two sides started evenly as both NEC and Feyenoord created mere minor chances in the first 15 minutes.
Eredivisie top scorer Ayase Ueda broke the game open, showcasing his aerial prowess with a delightful header from Hadj Moussa's corner that put Feyenoord up one inside 20 minutes.
The hosts took over from there, but failed to break Feyenoord's lead as Ahmetcan Kaplan missed a header and Bryan Linssen failed to convert from the counter.
After Ueda and Hadj Moussa failed to beat Gonzalo Crettaz to double Feyenoord's lead, NEC's Darko Nejasmic created more danger from a corner, but he, too, couldn't change the 1-0 scoreline in Nijmegen.
A spectacular final 10 minutes saw NEC pile up the pressure and get a dream chance for former Feyenoord striker Danilo Pereira, who received the ball after a friendly bounce, but fired it over Timon Wellenreuther's bar as the clock started to run out of minutes.
Danilo got his revenge in the end, half-volleying a cross from Sami Ouaissa in Wellenreuther's bottom corner to even the score in the 97th minute and keep NEC alive and well in the fight for second place.
The draw kept the gap between second-placed Feyenoord and chasers NEC at one point with four games to go. Feyenoord have next week off as NEC and AZ play the KNVB Beker final in Rotterdam on Sunday, April 19th.
Check the full match statistics on Flashscore
