Selangor refuse to sit back against Nam Dinh, says Pan-gon


PETALING JAYA: Selangor coach Kim Pan-gon has vowed that his side will not adopt a defensive approach despite holding a slender advantage heading into the second leg of the Asean Club Championship Shopee Cup semi-final against Vietnamese club Nam Dinh tomorrow.

The Red Giants will travel to Thien Truong Stadium in Ninh Binh carrying a 2-1 lead from last week’s first-leg clash at the Petaling Jaya Stadium, where Brazilian striker Chrigor Moraes struck twice to put Selangor in control of the tie.

However, Pan-gon insisted his players cannot afford to be complacent against a side renowned for their formidable home form.

“We go with a one-goal advantage, but I can’t be comfortable,” said the former Malaysia and Hong Kong coach.

“Nam Dinh are very strong at home. We saw from all their home games how dangerous they can be. We will be prepared and we will strongly resist them. We will not lose this opportunity.

“We expect them to attack us, but they also know we have quality strikers and wingers who can hurt them as well. Hopefully, it will be a good game for our Selangor fans.”

Last week’s defeat was Nam Dinh’s first in the 2025-2026 Asean campaign after the Vietnamese League One champions recorded four wins and one draw in the group stage to finish top of Group B.

Vietnam international Nguyen Van Vi scored the away side’s lone goal in Selangor, while prolific forward Rafaelson Bezerra or better known in Vietnam as Nguyen Xuan Son, the tournament’s leading scorer with seven goal, was largely kept quiet by the Selangor defence.

The winners of the semi-final will advance to the two-legged cup final, scheduled for May 20 and 27.

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