"We have to concentrate from the first whistle until the last" - FC Anyang's Maxwell Acosty

Maxwell Acosty believes that FC Anyang have the opportunity to lay down a marker should the Violets overcome fellow promotion hopefuls Gyeongnam FC this weekend. The Ghanian also believes concentration will be key following the Reds' last gasp win over Busan IPark last weekend. Now in his third season in K League, Acosty sat down with K League United for an exclusive interview.

There has been no sign of a playoff hangover for FC Anyang so far this term having won their first two matches of 2022, first against 2021 FA Cup winners Jeonnam Dragons 1-0, followed by a 2-0 victory over Chungnam Asan last weekend.

With two cleansheets from two games as well, Maxwell Acosty says a lot of hard work has gone into making sure the team is more defensively resolute:

"For us, the most important thing is the cleansheets, you know? Because, they say 'the best way to attack is to have the best defence' so we're working on defence, we worked pretty hard in preseason on defence and we are really happy that we had two games where we didn't concede a goal so we will keep on working and see how it goes."

Heading into Hana 1Q K League 2 Round 3 clash, the Violets are at home for a third match in succession and do so with their tails up, even if it is a match against a Gyeongnam side which fought back from two goals down to seal a dramatic win in the dying embers last time out.

"We are heading into this game with a lot of confidence because we are playing at home in front of our fans, which is really important for us. 

"It's a big game. I think they won their game in the 94th and 96th minute (vs Busan) so if the referee doesn't whistle for the end of the game, that means it's not done - we have to concentrate from the first minute until the referee's whistle for the last minute. 

"We will prepare for this game very well because we know how important it is to go three wins in a row. We have the opportunity to play in a home game again and we will try to grab all the points we can grab this season and we will see what happens.

"We have two video (sessions) in a week where we watch previous games, our mistakes and the good parts, where we have to improve, what we have to keep on doing and we watch the opposition team also. We will be fine if we do what the coaches tell us to do and concentrate 100%."

Full interview coming soon to KLeague.com and the K League United Podcast.