Azzurri overcame a missed penalty to defeat last-placed Lake Macquarie 2-1 at Macquarie Field, while Olympic had less headaches in a 3-0 win over Valentine at CB Complex.

They both moved to 23 points but Olympic earned third place and a second chance in the play-offs with an eight-plus goals difference to Azzurri's five.

Olympic are away to second-placed Magic (26 points) next week, while Azzurri are at home against Maitland (22), who had the last-round bye along with Weston but were guaranteed a top-five finish.

The winner of the Olympic-Magic match play premiers Edgeworth (33) the following week for a grand final berth. The loser takes on the winner of the Azzurri-Maitland clash.

A loss or draw for Olympic or Azzurri on Sunday would have opened the door for Lambton Jaffas (18 points, +7) to leapfrog them into a top-five finish with a win over second-placed Broadmeadow at Magic Park.

Magic put a dent in Jaffas' hopes when Mitch Rooke slid in to finish a James Virgili cross in the 44th minute. Lambton equalised in the 88^th minute when Kale Bradbery took the ball from halfway to score and offer them a glimmer of hope.

However, Charlestown were ahead 2-0 in their match until Lake Macquarie scored in the second minute of stoppage time through a Chris Berlin header. The match ended soon after, ensuring Azzurri a first finals appearance since 2014.

Scott Smith had put Azzurri ahead in the 60^th minute with a speculator long-range volleyed strike after controlling the ball with his knee.

Rene Ferguson made it 2-0 two minutes later with a header. It was redemption for Ferguson who failed to convert a penalty he had earned in the 12th minute.

The win capped a stunning comeback for Azzurri, who started the 13-game season with three losses. Charlestown coach Graham Law believed his side were now primed for the sudden-death clash with last year's premiers.

"We are well tuned for this because we've been playing knock-out football the last three weeks," Law said.

"I'm so happy for the boys, but now we switch our focus to Maitland and we're ready for it."

At Valentine, Olympic secured their first finals spot since 2017.

Olympic went ahead in the 18^th minute with a solo run and shot from Rhys Cooper. Reece Papas scored from a corner in the 59^th and Scotsman Anthony Marenghi cemented the win with a strike in the 80^th.

Olympic skipper Kyle Hodges was relieved to get the three points against a Valentine side who created opportunities on Sunday.

Their finals return also came after a troubled start to the season when the club parted ways with coach Peter McGuinness days out from kick-off.

Club stalwart and technical director Alex Tagaroulias stepped in as interim coach before Joel Griffiths was signed to take over in 2021.

"It's great to be back where we belong, especially with it being a bit of a disrupted year," Hodges said. "We lost a few boys early on, and it's good for Alex Tag as well because he put himself on the line by taking over when we needed him."

At Jack McLaughlan Oval, Edgeworth celebrated their record 13^th premiership with a 9-0 drubbing of Adamstown.

The Eagles secured the title last week while enjoying the bye and they warmed up for the finals on Sunday with goals to Mitch Hunter (25th), Jose Atayde (43^rd and 70th), an own goal (45th), a penalty from Keanu Moore (83rd) and four to Kristian Brymora (76^th, 79^th, 85^th and 86th).

Brymora, who had a first-half penalty saved, finished equal with Maitland's Braedyn Crowley on 13 for the leading scorer's title.