PEC Zwolle is certain of promotion to the Eredivisie after a 1-1 draw at Almere City on Friday evening. Thanks to the hard-fought point, the club of trainer Dick Schreuder is at least second in the Kitchen Champion Division and that means direct promotion to the highest class of professional football. Provincial rivals Heracles are still fighting for the championship in the last four games. Zwolle currently has a three-point lead.
The game against number three Almere was moderate, partly due to the great tension that was on it, and was stopped for about twenty minutes at the end of the first half due to a thunderstorm. It was then still 0-0. In the second half, Almere took a 1-0 lead in the 72nd minute through a header from Stije Resink, but Zwolle came alongside again two minutes later thanks to a header from Thomas van den Belt. The branch, filled with about 350 Zwolle supporters, celebrated the promotion exuberantly with the players.
PEC Zwolle relegated from the Eredivisie after ten years last year, but is already returning to the highest level after a season. The success is partly due to the nineteen goals from top scorer Lennart Thy and the now sixteen goals from midfielder Thomas van den Belt, who will leave for Feyenoord after this season.