Mohamed Al-Gabbas scored a hat-trick in the last ten minutes to give Masri a thrilling 5-2 victory over Ittihad in Alexandria in their Egyptian League opener on Friday. Masri's left-back Wagih Abdul-Azim converted a penalty in the 31st minute to stun the home crowd. Forward Ahmed Galal doubled the visitors' advantage just before the break to widen Ittihad misery. But Ittihad's never-say-die attitude saw them level the score in the second half. Striker Abdul-Hamid Hassan narrowed the gap in the 59th minute and Nasser Hassanein grabbed the equalizer in the 76th minute. But the 20-year-old Al-Gabbas stole the show after scoring three times in the space of ten minutes. He restored Masri's lead in the 80th minute before scoring twice in the last two minutes to seal the victory for the Port Said-based club. Masri continue their fine run under coach Hossam Hassan, who turned around the team's fortunes since his appointment last season. The former Egypt striker took charge of Masri while they were struggling at the bottom last season, lifting them up for a ninth-place finish in the league.
