THE Philippines footballers can be quite intimidating — they are tall and big.
This is the observation of Malaysia forward Akhyar Rashid whose team face the hosts in a Sea Games Group A match at Rizal Memorial Stadium today.
However, Akhyar feels that the Filipinos still have their weak points despite their imposing physical presence.
And the JDT ace aims to exploit these “holes”.
Akhyar had delivered the cross for Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak to head home the equaliser against Myanmar (1-1) on Monday but he was taken off in the second half after suffering cramps.
Now, he is back to full fitness and eager to pick at the Azkals defence. Akhyar said he has a good idea of how to exploit the Philippine backline.
“From what I have seen, they have been making mistakes in all their games so far. We will use that (weaknesses) to find a way to score.
“We watched their match against Myanmar (Wednesday) and there were a few simple mistakes.”
Akhyar, who hopes to pick up pace after a relatively disappointing performance against Myanmar, said: “I struggled in the second half against Myanmar. All the players felt tired and the pitch was slightly bumpy which made it harder.
“I need to improve on my first touch and also my runs in the next match.”