Salah Amin needed two minutes to put the hosts in front before his strike partner Ernest Papa Arko doubled the lead midway through the first half in superb fashion.

The Ghanaian striker, who finished last season as the league's joint top scorer, ghosted behind two defenders to latch onto a deft through pass and send a low shot into the bottom corner.

The speedy Papa Arko continued to unsettle Hodoud's defense and could have scored his second of the night on a couple of occasions.

Hodoud coach Tarek Al-Ashri, who fielded three strikers, introduced a fourth frontman in Ahmed Hassan Mekki to pile on pressure.

The substitution bore fruit shortly afterwards as Mekki narrowed the gap on 40 minutes.

Towering striker Ahmed Abdul-Ghani leveled the score just before the halftime after converting a penalty.

The Egyptian international notched the winner nine minutes after the restart.

Egyptian Cup holders Hodoud, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Police Union in their league opener, moved up to provisional second place on four points.

Gaish, who drew 1-1 with Arab Contractors in their previous game, lie 13th on one point.