Horope bags treble to help snap Isou’s losing streak

By JACK AMI
Centre John Horope bagged a treble to help Petroleum Resources Kutubu Gulf Isou beat Giru Waghi Tumbe 24-18 at the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby yesterday.
Horope scored two tries from backline moves in the first half and posted his third when he barged over near the uprights.
He was later named man-of-the-match.
The win helped Isou break their run of six straight losses which was a relief for coach Colin Geno and their supporters.
“We had to apply more discipline in our approach and attitudes,” Geno said.
Most of Isou’s five tries were scored through backline moves.
Isou got off on the front foot when Jeffery Para slotted a penalty goal in the opening minutes to lead 2-0.
Horope followed it up with an unconverted try to push Isou out to a 6-0 lead.
Tumbe then retaliated through prop Frank Kagai who crossed over for a converted try in the 13th minute to level the scores 6-all.
Isou skipped away when Horope and John Stanley bagged a try each after the half-hour mark.
Para managed just one of the conversions to give his side a 14-6 lead.
In the 38th minute, Tumbe’s Able Fungke scored out wide to make it 14-10 at the break.
Returning in the second stanza, both sides were guilty of poor ball security.
However, Isou made their field advantage count when Horope brush off four defenders to score near the uprights in the 58th minute. Para made sure of the conversion to give Isou a handy 20-10 advantage.
Capitalising on their size, Tumbe managed to send centre Emmanuel Waine over to cut the lead to 20-14.
They were again rewarded for their efforts when winger Paul Koi went over to narrow the margin further to 20-18.
But Tumbe’s hopes were dashed in the 79th minute when Daniel Pai re-gathered a kick by Samuel Pirika to dive over for an unconverted try.