There was some indecision as to whether Charlestown fullback Ash Gavin should push forward on a corner at the death against Maitland at Cooks Square Park last Saturday.
But the move ended up a masterstroke with the 29-year-old producing a last-minute winner for Azzurri with a well-timed header in the goalmouth.
Gavin arrived at the top of the box just as the corner kick was taken. With her eye on the ball, she ghosted in unmarked and finished from close range.
"I went to go up and [coach Niko Papaspiropoulos] told me to stay, so I stayed, and then on the [BarTV Sports] commentary you can hear him saying, 'Go Ash, go up, get in the box'," Gavin said.
"I thought the ball was going to go more into the centre then I watched it and tried to just follow it, and to be honest I didn't even know it went in. Then all of the girls were running at me."
The hosts had taken a 1-0 lead in the 57th minute through Sophie Jones but Charlestown equalised in the 78th when Indianna Asimus scored.
The important come-from-behind 2-1 win gave third-placed Azzurri (32 points) a 10-point buffer over fifth-placed Maitland (22). Newcastle Olympic (30) are fourth.
Maitland improved to 25 points, closing the gap on the top four to five points, by beating last-placed New Lambton (0) 13-1 in a catch-up match at Alder Park on Wednesday night.
Warners Bay (46) and Magic (43) have already booked finals berths with three games each to play.
Maitland, Azzurri and Olympic all have four matches remaining.
"This year, every game you go into, you know you're going to have to fight for it," Gavin said.
The goal was the Morisset disability support worker's first since returning to the league last season after a four-year absence due to a major knee injury.
"We needed a goal and thank God she did go up," Papaspiropoulos said.
"She got up well for it. It wasn't an easy header. It puts some space between us and Maitland. We still have tough games coming up so it was good to get a win in a tough game like that."
Charlestown have the weekend off before facing the competition leaders in their next outing on August 21.
