The hopes of Egyptian side Masry to reach the African Confederation Cup last four were dealt a blow after they were held to a 2-2 home draw by RS Berkane on Sunday, with veteran forward Mouhssine Iajour scoring twice for the Moroccans.

Berkane stunned the home crowd in Suez when Iajour opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime, sliding in at the near post to convert a low cross past the keeper.

However, Masry overturned the deficit in the second half and looked on course for a narrow yet valuable win.

Libyan midfielder Muftah Taktak drilled home from inside the area after some good work from Palestinian striker Mahmoud Wadi one minute after the restart.

In the 61^st minute, Masry went ahead via an own goal from Berkane keeper Zouheir Laaroubi after a scrappy effort.

However, Iajour ensured Berkane would have a clear advantage in the second leg, cutting ahead of the keeper at the near post to head home a corner and level the score with eight minutes remaining.

The disappointing draw has also spoiled the debut of Masry coach Tarek El-Ashri, who took over after a string of poor results in the domestic league led to the dismissal of Ihab Galal.

Masry will need to win away from home or secure a high-scoring draw in next week's second leg in Morocco if they are to reach the semi-final.

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