SINGAPORE: Selangor FC maintained its unbeaten start to the Asean Club Championship Shopee Cup Season 2025/26 on Wednesday with a 4-2 win over Tampines Rovers FC from Singapore at MBPJ Stadium, to climb into pole position in Group A after the opening two rounds.
The Malaysia Super League outfit moved ahead of BG Pathum United FC on goal difference following the Thai League 1 side’s 2-2 draw with defending champions Buriram United FC in Pathum Thani while Cong An Hanoi claimed a late 1-0 win over DH Cebu FC in Hanoi.
Selangor sits at the top of the standings with four points, alongside BG Pathum, with Cong An Hanoi in third, ahead of Tampines Rovers, Buriram United, and Cebu.
“I’m very proud of my players, they’re very tired, they struggled but they found a way to win against a very good team,” said Selangor coach Katsuhito Kinoshi.
“They didn’t give up and I’m very proud of my players, winning these three points with four goals. This three points is huge for us.”
Kinoshi’s side impressed in front of their own fans, with Faisal Halim’s heavily-deflected effort giving Selangor an 18th minute lead before Zach Clough added the second 12 minutes later.
And, while Koya Kazama’s 40th minute penalty reduced the deficit, Faisal hit his side’s third five minutes into the second half and Alvin Fortes scored the fourth eight minutes later to leave Hide Higashikawa’s 65th minute strike a consolation for the visitors.
Meanwhile, defending Shopee Cup champions Buriram United is still looking for their first win of the campaign after Osmar Loss’ side shared the points in a thrilling 2-2 draw with fellow Thai League 1 side BG Pathum United in a re-run of last season’s semi-final.
Sasalak Haiprakhon gave Buriram United a 20th-minute lead when he converted Goran Causic's cutback, only for Chanathip Songkrasin to equalise three minutes later with a deflected effort that goalkeeper Chatchai Bootprom fumbled over the line.
Guilherme Bissoli put Buriram United back in front from the penalty spot 10 minutes from the interval when Chanathip handled in the penalty area, but Surachat Sareepim levelled again four minutes into first-half injury time with a close-range finish.
In Hanoi, hosts Cong An needed a late winner from defender Jason Quang-Vinh Pendant to secure a well-earned 1-0 victory over Philippines Football League side Cebu at Hang Day Stadium.
The France-born defender struck in the 89th minute to give Mano Pölking’s side their first three points of the campaign after kicking off the competition with a 2-1 loss to BG Pathum on Matchday 1 last month.
Shopee Star of the Match award winners are:
BG Pathum United FC v Buriram United FC – Chanathip Songkrasin (#18), BG Pathum United FC
Công An Hà Nội FC v DH Cebu FC – Jason Quang-Vinh Pendant (#7), Công An Hà Nội FC
Selangor FC v Tampines Rovers FC – Faisal Halim (#7), Selangor FC
(Note: Catch all the Shopee Cup news at https://aseanutdfc.com/asean-club-championship and @aseanutdfc on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X and LinkedIn).
