The development side have had a positive Premier League 2 Division 2 campaign, and currently sit in third, among the tightly contested play-off places, having overtaken Crystal Palace following their 2-0 win over the Eagles on Monday afternoon.
Midfielder Hong, who put in one of his best performances in a gold and black shirt against Palce, knows the side will need to replicate their display on Friday as they travel to fifth-placed Fulham, with games in hand over their promotion rivals.
On a hard-fought win over Palace
“It was a hard win. I thought we started off really well, took the 2-0 lead and probably should’ve ended the game with Theo’s chance to make it three and that would’ve killed it. But we dug in and stopped any goals, so that’s the main thing. A clean sheet and a 2-0 win, we can’t really complain.
“We are slightly disappointed to have only come away with the two goals, but especially in the first-half we were very dangerous. We created a lot of chances in the first-half, in the second-half there weren’t as many, but even still we had chances to put the game away.
“But the main thing was keeping the clean sheet, so we went in at half-time 2-0 up, and we don’t concede goals, so if we keep a clean sheet, we win the game.”
On bouncing back after a three-week break
“The Stoke game was really frustrating as a team because I felt we had full control over that game and then there was a little bit of madness and we lost our heads. That day, we should have come away from that with a win.
“But the main thing today is that we all dug in and kept the clean sheet.”
On getting a run of games in the team
“I’ve had a hard time and have had to work really hard to get into the team. I feel like in every performance I’ve had, I’ve done well, but the main thing is not about myself, it’s about what I do for the team. The main thing is that I’ve been able to help us keep the clean sheet.
“It’s always nice to play games. You obviously always work so hard during the week and if you get left out of the squad, it can be frustrating, but when I’m called upon by James, I’ve done a good job and I know what my job in the team is.
“The boys have given me a lot of stick for shooting, but it opened up for me today and I thought, ‘Why not?’”
55' | #WOL 2-0 #CRY
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) February 22, 2021
A strong start to the second half. Hong Wan goes close from range and then Corbeanu's shot tests the keeper as we look for a third.#WOLCRY #PL2
📺 https://t.co/m96L8Wgjbm pic.twitter.com/03SYaGEfuc
On pushing up the table
“In the last two months, we’ve only played three games, so we haven’t really been able to get into a flow of games, but hopefully we can rest up, recover and then go again on Friday. It’s another very important game and hopefully we can get the win again.
“We’ve got a really good group here and if we can’t get automatic promotion, we can really push for the play-offs. I don’t see why we couldn’t. It’s very important to win the games and get as many points as we can to get us up the table.
“We’ve got games in hand, but games in hand don’t mean anything unless we win the games.”
