Al Sailiya beat Al Shahania 1-0 after a gritty show in Week 20 of the QNB Stars League at the Qatar SC Stadium on Sunday.

Rachid Tiberkanine scored the only goal of the match in the 10th minute. It was Al Sailiya’s 11th win of the season, which is heading towards a close.

Al Sailiya now have 34 points with their 11th victory, while Al Shahania stayed on 21 points.

After a fast-paced start, the game sprang to life when Al Sailiya scored after poor marking by Al Shahania defenders. Captain Alvaro Perez failed to clear the ball properly, allowing Nadir Belhadj to block an aerial shot on the left wing.

Belhadj shot a loopy cross towards Rachid, who jumped high and headed the ball into the net on the bounce as Al Shahania goalkeeper Saoud Al Hajri could not block the ball.

Just five minutes later, the same combination - Belhadj’s cross and Rachid’s neat finish - clicked again, but it was ruled off-side.

In the 33rd minute, Al Sailiya’s Abdulqadir Ilyas hoodwinked Alvaro on the edge of the Al Shahania box. But Ilyas’ powerful shot went wide.

Ilyas was at it again later on, but the Al Shahania keeper thwarted him.

After a few anxious minutes in injury time, Al Sailiya held on to their slender lead and picked up three valuable points.