Gangwon FC coach Jeong Kyung-ho picks ‘communication’ as the secret to their complete victory over Anyang

(Anyang=Yonhap News) Reporter Bae Jin-nam = Jeong Kyung-ho, manager of Gangwon FC, who secured their first K-League 1 victory against FC Anyang despite difficult team circumstances, cited "communication" as the driving force behind the win.

Gangwon completely overwhelmed Anyang 3-0 in an away match during the 27th round of the Hana Bank K League 1 2026 held at Anyang Stadium in Gyeonggi-do on the 6th, thanks to consecutive goals from Karim, Kim Gun-hee, and Mo Jae-hyeon.

This is the first time Gangwon has won a league match against Anyang after two draws and three losses in six games since Anyang was promoted to K League 1 last year.

Including K League 2, it is their first victory against Anyang in as many as 10 years, since winning 3-0 in a home game on September 28, 2016.

Manager Jeong had many worries even before the match that day. With a thin squad and a large number of key players missing due to injuries, red card suspensions, and call-ups to the Asian Games national team, it was not easy to even put together a starting XI.

For Karim, who scored the winning opening goal that day, the match against Anyang was his K-League debut. Although Karim's main position is side defender, he played full time as a central defender that day.

The substitutes list had to be filled with players who had not even made their K-League debuts yet, such as Go Eun-seok, Kang Seong-yoon, and Jeong Seung-bin.

Before the match, Manager Jeong gave a bitter smile, saying, "It was our first away game in a while, and when I entered the hotel, I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces."

Nevertheless, Gangwon completely defeated Anyang.

In the post-match press conference, Manager Jeong confessed, "Football is really difficult. With so many injured players, it was tough to match center-back pairings, and I had deep concerns about how to prepare."

He continued, "I communicated with the senior players with the mindset of shutting down what the opponent does well and doing what we do well. I devised the game plan by actively reflecting the players' ideas," and gave credit to the players, saying, "I said, 'Let's approach this with the thought that every player is the manager,' and today it really felt like everyone was the manager of Gangwon FC."

He also explained the reason why more communication with the players was necessary.

Gangwon had previously played high-energy football with high-intensity pressing.

However, in preparing for this Anyang match, they chose practicality by dropping their defensive line with a back three to fit the team's circumstances.

Manager Jeong continued his praise, saying, "The player pool is limited, and as we kept maintaining pressing football, the physical burden grew and many injuries occurred. On top of that, with three players called up to the Asian Games national team, squad composition became even harder. I honestly told the players, 'I want to play this kind of football this time,' and asked for their understanding. We had to approach it strategically for the victory, and the players followed through magnificently."