BURIRAM, Thailand: Selangor FC head coach Kim Pan-gon admitted first-leg nerves cost his side overall in the 2025/26 Asean Club Championship Shopee Cup final as the Malaysia Super League side slipped to a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Buriram United FC.
Kim’s side rattled the champions in the opening exchanges of the second leg on Wednesday, with Syahir Bashah scoring in the 18th minute to level the aggregate score and cause a wave of concern to ripple through the majority in the 30,889 capacity crowd at Buriram Stadium.
But goals from Suphanat Mueanta and Theerathon Bunmathan eventually saw Buriram United prevail, winning 2-1 in the second leg and 3-1 overall to retain the title the club won last season.
“Tonight I’m very proud of all the Selangor players. We have done very well, our players and I’m very proud. I think it was very positive tonight, I have no regrets,” said Kim, who took over as head coach in January.
“In the home game I think the players weren’t used to playing in a final, it had been a long time and they were nervous.
“We encouraged the players to show their characteristics, they must be representing our fans. It worked and even though it was an away game we were confident. I was very proud that we maintained our characteristics against such a strong team.
“We tried to correct some things, some tactics. It was working, the defending was working very well. It was positive.”
Syahir’s goal was a deserved early reward for a Selangor team that dominated the first quarter of the match as Kim sent his side out to atone for the loss in front of their own fans with an energetic display.
A tactical shift by Buriram United coach Mark Jackson after Suphanat’s equaliser, when he withdrew defender Pansa Hemviboon and replaced him with forward Supachai Chaided, swung the momentum in the Thai side’s favour and the hosts eventually won out.
Despite the defeat, Kim was able to celebrate a positive conclusion to a campaign that had seen Selangor struggle in the first half of the season, with coach Katsuhito Kinoshi replaced by interim boss Christophe Gamel before the South Korean was appointed.
In addition to reaching the Shopee Cup™ final, Kim led Selangor to a third place finish in the Malaysia Super League and he is already looking forward to the new season with the promise of building on the performances of the last five months.
Selangor, who were seeking a first major trophy since lifting the 2015 Malaysia Cup, can take pride as they became the first Malaysian club to advance into the final of the Shopee Cup™.
“I came in the middle of the season and when we played the Shopee Cup™, it was always excellent,” he said. “We tried to build our characteristics in this competition with dynamic play.
“In the final it was a very tough opponent, but we tried to keep our characteristics. I’m a little bit upset we couldn’t get into second position (in the league). We reviewed our characteristics and our DNA and I'm very much looking forward to next season.
“We will be very strong. We will challenge and go back to our position.”
