PEC Zwolle have been promoted back to the Eredivisie at the first time of asking courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Almere City on Friday night.
Heading into the end-of-week encounter, Dick Schreuder's side only needed to avoid defeat against third-placed Almere to guarantee a top-two finish with four games to spare.
Zwolle's efforts were not helped by a thunderstorm, but the game was eventually given the green light to continue, and Stije Resink headed home the opening goal for Almere in the 71st minute.
EREDIVISIE 💙 pic.twitter.com/Xj9RgBUkh8
— PEC Zwolle (@PECZwolle) April 21, 2023
The hosts would not spoil their visitors' promotion party, though, as midfielder Thomas van den Belt came up with a header of his own just three minutes later to restore parity.
Van den Belt's equaliser was his 16th goal of a phenomenal campaign for the 21-year-old defensive midfielder, and it proved to be the strike that would punch Zwolle's ticket back to the big time.
The Blauwvingers boast 76 points from their 34 outings so far this term, and they are now going head-to-head with Heracles for the league title, currently sitting three points above the second-placed outfit.
Schreuder's side spent 10 consecutive seasons in the Eredivisie before finishing 18th and suffering relegation in the 2021-22 campaign.
Ben Knapton
