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Jakarta. Christian Gonzales never seems to run out of tricks up his sleeve. His latest magic act sent Indonesia straight to the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup final.

The 35-year-old striker came to Indonesia’s rescue again on Sunday, blasting a powerful left-footed shot from nearly 50 meters out that was enough to give Merah Putih a 1-0 victory over the Philippines at Jakarta’s Bung Karno Stadium.

Gonzales was also responsible for the lone goal in the semifinal opener on Thursday, and his 42nd-minute strike on Sunday sealed Indonesia’s 2-0 aggregate victory and its place in the AFF Cup title game.

“[Sunday’s] match was not for the weak of heart,” Indonesia coach Alfred Riedl said.

“It was difficult to win the last time, but the Philippines made it even harder for us.”

Next up for Indonesia is Malaysia in what promises to be an emotionally charged two-leg final that will open in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday and end at Bung Karno Stadium on Dec. 29

Malaysia, the reigning Southeast Asian Games champion, secured its place in the AFF Cup final, its first since the inaugural tournament in 1996, by ousting 2008 champion Vietnam 2-0 on aggregate.

The Malaysians’ only defeat in this year’s Cup came against Indonesia — a 5-1 thrashing during the group stage.

Indonesia is heading back to the AFF Cup final for the first time since 2004 when it lost to Singapore 5-2 on aggregate.

Gonzales figured in a number of scoring chances early in the game, but the Persib Bandung striker couldn’t cash in.

One of those opportunities came just past the 20th minute mark when the naturalized Uruguay forward took a short pass in front of an unmanned goal from one of his teammates, but couldn’t control the ball which rolled past his legs.

In the 41st minute, Gonzales received a long pass at the penalty box with only goalkeeper Neil Etheridge to beat but his attempt went wide.

His frustration and those of some 85,000 fans at the Bung Karno Stadium would end a minute later though.

With a phalanx of Philippines defenders standing between him and the goal, Gonzales fired a long-range shot that bounced hard off Filipino defender Robert Gier and back to Gonzales.

Not to be denied, Gonzales found some space on his left and launched a missile from way outside the penalty area that was well out of Etheridge’s reach and landed high on the left-side net.

The Philippines was in disarray through most of the game and never found a clear target, with most of their shots coming from beyond 40 meters and none having a chance.

After the break, Indonesia was determined to double its lead, but Etheridge made sure the Filipinos would bow out of the tournament with their heads held high by stopping shots from Zulkifli Syukur and Muhammad Ridwan early in the second half.

“We had our chances in the second half but we just made a lot of bad decisions,” Riedl said.

“We weren’t looking for a good game today, but we were looking to go to the final.”