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Gor Mahia moved a step closer to reclaiming the SportPesa League title after convincingly beating Murang’a SEAL 1-3 on Sunday afternoon at Nyayo National Stadium, stretching their lead in the title race back to four points against rivals AFC Leopards with two matches remaining.

The win moves the League leaders to 68 points, keeping them firmly in the driving seat for the championship and leaving them just one win away from securing the title.

For MSEAL, the home defeat leaves them frozen on 41 points, keeping them mid-table but denting their ambitions of securing a top-half finish as the season reaches its climax.

READ MORE: AFC Leopards edge Kakamega Homeboyz to move within one point of leaders Gor Mahia

Gor Mahia move closer to SportPesa League title

The match sparked into life in the 18th minute when Gor Mahia opened the scoring from a perfectly weighted pass by Shariff Musa, he ensuing melee found Samuel Kapen, who wasted no time dribbling past goalkeeper Boniface Ngamau to slot home the opener.

The host responded almost immediately with an attack of their own, and exactly 18 minutes later, they found the equalizer. A long ball from goalkeeper Ngamau found its way into the danger zone within seconds, where Lucas Maina flicked it on to Joe Waithira, who fired home to send the teams into the break level.

🟢 | MATCH UPDATE

It’s over ladies and gentlemen… what a performance with a convincing win on a day Otoyo and their friends hoped for other results. ‘United opposition’ wanaskiaje hapo nje? Musa Shariff says wanyamaze kabisa.

Nyamrithi ni mbaya🔥🔥

FT | M Seal 1 – 3 Gor… pic.twitter.com/24tnzbZN4H

— GOR MAHIA FC (@OfficialGMFC) May 17, 2026

The second half proved to be a more tactical affair, but the visitors reclaimed the lead in the 52nd minute. A long throw-in by Samuel Kapen was flicked over by Frank Odhiambo and miscued by Ben Stanley Omondi, falling kindly for Shariff Musa on the right, who made no mistake in slotting home.

SEAL moved in swiftly and thought they had a second equalizer just minutes later after a wonderful, grass cutting free-kick from Waithira, but Bryne Omondi was equal to the task, pulling off a spectacular save to keep Gor ahead.

ALSO READ: Gor Mahia FC: squad, fixtures, standings, results and stats

The points were safely secured in the 78th minute when Shariff Musa turned provider. Musa ran swiftly down the right flank before delivering a pinpoint pass to substitute Ebenezer Assifuah, who fired home with clinical composure.

In a frantic final few minutes, Murang’a SEAL made one last desperate attempt to claw their way back, but the youngster-heavy frontline ran out of ideas as Gor Mahia’s experience shone through, ensuring the match ended 1-3.

The win maintains Gor Mahia’s dominance over Murang’a SEAL this season, and they will head home happier of the two teams, standing on the very cusp of a historic 22nd league title.

Starting Lineups

Murang’a SEAL: Bonface Ngamau, Victor Omulama, Dennis Munyovi, Prince Musebe, Paul Ngugi, United Telvin Maina, Washington Owen, Joe Irungu, Lucas Maina, Michael Macharia, Victor Haki.

Gor Mahia: Bryne Omondi, Paul Ochuoga, Bryton Onyona, Mike Kibwage, Frank Odhiambo, Alpha Onyango, Ben Stanley, Lawrence Juma, Shariff Musa, Patrick Essombe, Samuel Kapen.

Related

• Posta Rangers beat Sofapaka 3-0 to move four points clear of the SportPesa League relegation zone.
• The match was staged at Kasarani Annex on Monday, May 11.
• Jackson Macharia, Caleb Olilo, and Elvis Noor scored the crucial goals for the Mailmen.

Posta Rangers moved four points clear of the relegation zone after thrashing the National Super League-bound side Sofapaka 3-0 on Monday afternoon at the Kasarani Annex.

Heading into this clash, the Mailmen needed the three points more in their survival fight than Sofapaka, who have already been relegated.

As a result, Posta climbed to 13th place on the table with 36 points, four ahead of 16th-placed Ulinzi Stars, who sit on 32 points. With three matches remaining, Ulinzi still have a game in hand

SportPesa League Player of the Month for March, Jackson Macharia, led a trio also featuring Elvis Noor and Caleb Olilo to hand their side three crucial goals at home.

READ MORE: APS Bomet cruise past Mathare to boost survival hopes as Kariobangi Sharks edge Nairobi United & escape the drop zone

Posta Rangers beat Sofapaka 3-0

Posta will now look ahead to their final three fixtures, hoping to dodge relegation this season just like they did the last one.

They face Nairobi United next, then take on KCB FC, and their last league match will be against Ulinzi Stars a showdown that could determine the fate of both sides if they slip up in their upcoming encounters before meeting.

READ MORE: Shabana FC held by Ulinzi Stars in their final match at Gusii Stadium this season

For the 2009 champions, who got relegated after a 2-2 draw with Mathare United, there is nothing to lose but to keep battling for pride and finish the league on a high note as they head into the NSL.

They still have showdowns against KCB, Shabana FC, and another relegation candidate, Kariobangi Sharks.

This solo fixture played on Monday closed out SportPesa League Round 31, where thrilling matches were played from Saturday.

AFC Leopards managed to edge out Mara Sugar 2-1 at the Nyayo National Stadium to revive their title talks after they had stumbled in back-to-back matches. On the same day, Shabana’s last match of the season at the Gusii Stadium saw them held to a goalless draw by Ulinzi Stars.

READ MORE: AFC Leopards revive title hopes with hard-fought win over Mara Sugar

On Sunday, the drama continued with six thrilling encounters, with the title race heating up and teams also fighting relegation battles.

Gor Mahia were close to losing against Kenya Police at Nyayo Stadium, only for Ebenezer Assiufuah to come off the bench and score an equalizer.

After Police dominated the match, Gor salvaged a point and went seven points clear, nearing a 22nd title.

Kariobangi Sharks beat Nairobi United 2-0 to lift themselves out of the relegation zone, while Murang’a SEAL, after an eight-match winless run, managed to beat Kakamega Homeboyz 1-0 at the SportPesa Arena.

Mathare United saw a beating at home against high-flying APS Bomet, with KCB sharing spoils with Bandari FC, who picked up their 17th draw of the season.

Tusker FC returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Bidco United, who are also relegation candidates.

READ MORE: Assifuah salvages a point for Gor Mahia in draw against Kenya Police as they go seven points clear

SportPesa League Round 31 Results

Saturday

• Shabana FC 0-0 Ulinzi Stars
• AFC Leopards 2-1 Mara Sugar

Sunday

• Gor Mahia 1-1 Kenya Police FC
• Mathare United 0-2 APS Bomet
• Kariobangi Sharks 2-0 Nairobi United
• KCB 2-2 Bandari FC
• Tusker FC 2-0 Bidco United
• Murang’a SEAL 1-0 Kakamega Homeboyz

Monday

• Posta Rangers 3-0 Sofapaka

Related

Best FPL Team so Far This 2025/2026 Season: Using Power BI to Analyse Points, Form, and Player PerformanceOne of the best things about Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is that it feels analytical, at least it is to me. I know for many folk most decisions are still driven by gut instinct, social media hype, or last week’s highlights. Over the weekend, I was listening to a football radio show (names withheld to protect the guilty) where the presenters were debating their players of the season so far.It sparked a simple question:

What happens if we let FPL data decide?

Rather than opinions, narratives, or club bias, I decided to use my Power BI FPL model to answer two very specific questions:

1. Who are the best-performing players this season so far, based purely on points?
2. Who are the players in form right now, based on recent performance?

The results were interesting, and in one case, mildly controversial.

Ranking Players by Total FPL Points

The first step was straightforward. I already have a Power BI semantic model with:

• A Detailed Player Data fact table (match-level FPL data)
• Dimension tables for Player, Club, and Position

To rank players objectively, I added a DAX measure that calculates a dense rank across all players based on total FPL points.

Player Rank Measure (Season to Date)

Player Rank in Club = RANKX( ALL ( 'Player Data (Dim)'[Player Name] ), CALCULATE( [Total Player Points] ), , DESC, DENSE )

This measure ignores any filters on individual players and ranks everyone globally by points scored so far this season.

Building the “Best Team So Far” in Power BI

With the ranking measure in place, I created four table visuals in Power BI, one for each position:

• Goalkeepers
• Defenders
• Midfielders
• Forwards

Each visual was filtered by position and sorted by Player Rank. From there, I selected the top performers to assemble a 15-man FPL squad.

To be clear:

• This team does not consider FPL budget constraints
• It sticks to the FPL squad requirements
• It is purely performance-driven

The Best FPL Players So Far (By Points)

Goalkeepers

• Robin Roefs – Sunderland
• Jordan Pickford – Everton

Defenders

• Gabriel – Arsenal
• Marc Guéhi – Crystal Palace
• Trevoh Chalobah – Chelsea
• Jurriën Timber – Arsenal
• James Tarkowski – Everton

Midfielders

• Declan Rice – Arsenal
• Antoine Semenyo – Bournemouth
• Bruno Guimarães – Newcastle
• Bruno Fernandes – Manchester United
• Morgan Rogers – Aston Villa

Forwards

• Erling Haaland – Manchester City
• Thiago – Brentford
• Jarrod Bowen – West Ham

Two observations stand out immediately:

1. This squad would leave you around £17m over budget
2. There isn’t a single Liverpool player in the list

Data can be uncomfortable like that.

The Problem with Total Points

Season-long points are useful, but they have a major weakness: recency bias works both ways.

• A player who started the season hot but faded still ranks highly
• A player returning from injury or hitting form late can be under-represented

To solve that, I introduced a form-based approach.

Measuring Player Form (Last 30 Days)

Instead of looking at the entire season, I created a measure that calculates average points over the last 30 days, based on actual kickoff times.

Player Form Measure

Form = VAR TodayDate = MAX('Detailed Player Data (Fact)'[Kickoff_Time]) VAR StartDate = TodayDate - 30 RETURN CALCULATE( AVERAGE('Detailed Player Data (Fact)'[Total Points]), 'Detailed Player Data (Fact)'[Kickoff_Time] >= StartDate && 'Detailed Player Data (Fact)'[Kickoff_Time] <= TodayDate )

This dynamically adjusts as new matches are played, ensuring that form always reflects current performance, not historical reputation.

---

Ranking Players by Form

With form calculated, I applied the same ranking logic as before.

Player Rank by Form

Player Rank Form = VAR ThisPlayerForm = [Form] RETURN RANKX( ALL ( 'Player Data (Dim)'[Player Name] ), CALCULATE( [Form] ), , DESC, DENSE )

Now I can instantly answer questions like:

• Which defenders are actually delivering right now?
• Are premium midfielders justifying their price recently?
• Is a forward on a hot streak or living off one big haul?

This is where Power BI really shines: switching between season consistency and short-term momentum without rebuilding anything.

Why This Matters for FPL Strategy

Using both views together gives you a much stronger decision framework:

• Total points highlight reliable, season-long performers
• Form identifies momentum, rotation risk, and short-term opportunity

If you’re planning transfers for the second half of the season, form-based rankings are often the difference between climbing the mini-league and standing still.

More importantly, this approach removes emotion from decision-making. No hype. No narratives. Just data.

From FPL to Real Business Decisions

What I’ve described here isn’t really about Fantasy Premier League.

It’s about:

• Clear metrics
• Trusted models
• Decision-making backed by data

The same principles apply whether you’re picking an FPL captain or making multi-million-pound business decisions from dashboards.

Want This Level of Clarity in Your Organisation?

If your reporting feels slow, inconsistent, or hard to trust, that’s exactly the problem my Data Platform & Analytics Accelerator is designed to solve.

It helps organisations:

• Build reliable Power BI and Microsoft Fabric foundations
• Define consistent metrics that people actually trust
• Move from dashboard noise to decision clarity

Book a call today to discuss the Accelerator and see how it could work for your organisation:

Book an appointment to talk about the Data Platform Accelerator

Because whether it’s FPL or the boardroom, better data always wins.

Useful Links

Why Data Platforms Like Microsoft Fabric Don’t Fix Broken Data Culture

Why Reporting Slows Down as Organisations Grow

Xander’s First Season – A Proud Dad’s Reflection