Chelsea loanee Christian Atsu was on target from the penalty spot after half an hour of a man-of-the-match performance.
Steve de Ridder levelled with a spot kick of his own before Mike Havenaar and Davy Propper struck in the 86th minute and stoppage time respectively.
AZ Alkmaar will replace Vitesse at the top if they beat Feyenoord on Sunday.
Groningen are level on points with AZ in third after a dominant second-half display secured a 3-0 victory at Heracles Almelo.
Having spurned an earlier opportunity, 17-year-old forward Richairo Zivkovic pounced on a knockdown in the box to open the scoring before the impressive Filip Kostic netted a double.
Go Ahead Eagles abruptly ended Roda JC's recent promising form with a resounding 4-1 win in Kerkrade. Winger Jarchinio Antonia helped himself to a double inside the first 10 minutes – his first a superb solo effort.
Xander Houtkoop stole in at the back post to restore Go Ahead's two-goal advantage after Mitchell Donald reduced the arrears and Erik Falkenburg added the fourth in the 55 minutes after Roda's Ard van Peppen was sent off.
Mathias Gehrt scored a goal in each half as ADO Den Haag beat Cambuur 3-0 with a result that meant the latter dropped into the relegation zone.
