Indonesia secured a place in the final of the AFF Suzuki Cup on Sunday, defeating Philippines 1-0 thanks to a Cristian Gonzales' first-half goal.

Already holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg, Indonesia made sure of progressing when Uruguay-born striker Gonzales was quickest to react after his initial shot had been blocked to curl a fine effort past Philippines keeper Neil Etheridge just before the break. They will now play Malaysia with the first leg in Kuala Lumpur on 26 December and the return match in Jakarta three days later.

Indonesia were deserving winners on the night in front of a capacity crowd at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and would have won by a greater margin had it not been for some wasteful finishing from Gonzales. The visitors threatened occasionally in the second period but Phil Younghusband, Anton Del Rosario and Emelio Caligdong wasted decent openings.

At the end it was the result that I think we deserved and we are through to the final.
Alfred Riedl, Indonesia coach

And the Philippines' frustration boiled over three minutes from the end when Chris Greatwich picked up his second yellow card and a subsequent red for a needless lunge on Markus Harison.

Indonesia's Austrian coach Alfred Riedl was relieved to have got through. "This sort of game is not good for weak nerves. Our opponents made it very difficult for us to win the match today. They had a lot of set plays from throw-ins and corners and each time it was very dangerous for us."

"In the second half, we could see our players getting nervous. The Philippines were getting the ball into the box and they made things very dangerous for us.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't score a second goal which would have made things a little easier. We had chances but we missed those opportunities. However, at the end it was the result that I think we deserved and we are through to the final.

"I must thank the players for their performance. When you play against tough opponents who are very much bigger and taller than you, it is difficult to do anything without fouling them. So you have to play very smart and they did that tonight," said the winning coach.