Former Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan nearly spoiled Beveren's party after assisting Patro Eisden team-mate Japhet Muanza's 1-0, but the visitors bounced back after Kurt Abrahams levelled the score before half-time and two own goals from Stef Peeters led SK Beveren to a promotion-clinching 4-1 win in Maasmechelen.
The American-owned club are now on 66 points and remain unbeaten after 24 rounds. With only eight rounds to go for Beveren, and seven for chasers Lommel and Beerschot, the Waasland outfit cannot fall out of the top two places anymore.
The promotion is the earliest in the history of the Challenger Pro League. Beveren, who have won their last 10 league games in a row, are now chasing the coveted record set by Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in 1934, when the team from Brussels went invincible.
Remarkable rise
"The first goal has been achieved," Beveren director Bob Peeters told Het Nieuwsblad.
"I am very proud. A year and a half ago, there was a lot of negativity surrounding the club, but when you see what we have achieved now and how many steps we have taken, it's fantastic."
Beveren, who last played in the Pro League in 2021, are led by Dutch manager Marink Reedijk, who previously worked with several Dutch youth teams and later with the academies of Ajax and West Bromwich Albion.
"This is incredible. I already thought we had prepared well in the summer, but when you express the ambition to finish in the top two, and you realise that in February, it's incredible," Reedijk said after the win over Patro Eisden.
After becoming an assistant manager at Vitesse, Reedijk moved to Anderlecht to manage their U21 team in the Challenger Pro League, the second tier of Belgian football. Reedijk joined Beveren in 2024 and led them to the promotion play-offs in his first year, before leading them to a historically early promotion.
