Lambton Jaffas coach Shane Pryce feels his side have found momentum at the right time after turning the tables on Broadmeadow 2-1 at Magic Park on Sunday to book a grand final meeting with NPL men's premiers Maitland.
Beaten 2-1 at the ground two weeks ago in the qualifying final, Lambton won the preliminary final with goals from Ben Hay (20th minute) and James Virgili (61st).
Magic defender Jordan Jackson set up an exciting finish, backing in to score with a header off a Keanu Moore free kick in the 90th minute, but Lambton held on.
They take on Maitland in the decider at No.2 Sportsground next Sunday and Pryce was proud of the defensive effort to get there.
"Individual players had some roles that they had to do," the former national league defender said.
"Did they do it all the time? No. But when we did do it I thought some things paid off for us. We got the ball in areas where we could play a bit of counterattacking football. Credit to the team for sticking to what we trained for.
"If we took a couple of more chances we could have put it to bed early, but I think [Magic] showed what a quality team they are. They kept pressing right until the end, but I just think today has been coming for a few weeks.
"I think we've got a bit of momentum now and we're looking forward to a grand final. Our combinations are coming together."
Magic coach Damian Zane said his side paid the price for not shooting more often when in good positions.
"That's a young team finding their way, they just didn't back themselves," Zane said.
"We're gutted but you've got to remember where we've come from. Round two we've lost two games, in the off-season it was looking bare, and in the end we've dealt with the loss of Tom [Beecham], Sam [Donnellan] and Jacob [Dowse]. Jake Harris is overseas, so it's diminished the depth, but the good news is ... that young group has stood up and got some experience.
"That last 10 minutes probably summed up our season. We never went away."
Magic were the more threatening early but Jaffas were first to strike, scoring after a nice one-two exchange between Hay and Kale Bradbery down the left. Bradbery was in behind before cutting back to Hay, who shot into the bottom right corner.
Virgili forced saves from Ben McNamara in the 17th, 32nd and 44th minutes but Broadmeadow held the bulk of possession without giving Jaffas keeper Ben Kennedy many headaches.
It was a similar story in the second half before Jaffas substitute Kai Bradley was rewarded for his chase of a long clearance. Magic defenders were slow to react, thinking the ball was going out, but Bradley kept it in at the left corner before crossing to Virgili for the crucial near-post touch.
