NEC needed FC Twente to drop points away at PSV to have a chance at claiming a ticket to the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. With Twente one point ahead and both goal differences identical, a draw would already suffice in case of a Twente defeat.
After some early chances, Noé Lebreton headed NEC in front after 11 minutes to virtually send them into Europe.
NEC stayed firmly on top against Go Ahead Eagles, who nearly put the ball in their own net and saw the hosts double their lead with Lebreton's second goal - the Frenchman hit the post with his initial effort, but rushed to tap in the rebound to have NEC sitting pretty with an hour to go.
Just as De Goffert erupted in more celebrations with PSV taking the lead against FC Twente, Tjaronn Chery was inches away from handing NEC a three-goal lead, missing Jari De Busser's goal with his powerful effort.
Instead, Go Ahead Eagles gave themselves a lifeline via Sören Tengstedt, who fired in from close range to liven up the match with over half an hour remaining.
NEC's Brayann Pereira nearly ended all doubt, but his header hit the crossbar.
NEC dominated the second half and created chance after chance, but couldn't beat De Busser a third time in a truly one-sided half.
De Goffert exploded after the full-time whistle as NEC clinched a third-place finish - the best in club history - and punched their ticket to the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, with the Nijmegen side coming in in the third round.