Four things we learnt from FKFPL Round 17

The Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) 2022-23 season first leg ended over the weekend with a bang!

It's, however, worthy to note that some teams are still having up to two games pending, before their midterm breather.

That aside, there was a lot to pick from the action packed weekend, which only had a single draw; a dull 0-0 stalemate between FC Talanta and Nzoia Sugar FC. The other eight fixtures produced a winner.

1. The greatness is still within

Mathare United are proving to be indomitable. After a rough start to the season, which saw them go seven games without a win, the Slum Boys have finally managed to crawl out of the relegation zone.

A win over strugglers Wazito FC on Saturday saw the 2009 champions move a point above Nairobi City Stars to position 15 with two games to spare.

I am now aiming for double figures – on-form Daniel Otieno declares

This comes after a match-fixing purge and change of coach. Like Wazito and Vihiga Bullets, Mathare began the season late due to a court battle over relegation and promotion, but they seem to have stabilized.

2. Give it up to the sleuths

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) through their massive social media presence, can hype a game and win new fans.

DCI stirs up excitement ahead of Gor Mahia vs Police FKFPL clash

Ahead of the weekend's big fixture between Gor Mahia and Police FC, the sleuths, who support the latter, took football banter a notch higher and in the process, created a lot of interest around the match.

K'Ogalo admins were equally game, and in the end, there were confessions by new fans who went to the stadium for the first time because of the robust online engagements.

Can this continue?

3. Reward Ingwe fans

For a club that has gone close to three decades without winning the league title, it's just amazing to see how the fan base continues to swell, game after game.

Even in their darkest days, when wins were very hard to come by, AFC Leopards fans have stuck with their team in an envious manner. Compared to their arch rivals Gor Mahia, whose fans are lost in the club's politics and have kept off the stands despite good performance, Ingwe faithful deserve nothing but praise, kudos!

4. Methinks it's gone! Hii imeenda!

You may say it's too early to call it, but results of this weekend might have as well determined who's going to be crowned the league champions this season.

Gor Mahia beating Police FC 2-1 and Leopards edging out KCB 1-0 might have tilted the balance of the scale in favor of K'Ogalo.

Gor Mahia's Tactical Flexibility proves key in crucial victory over Police

The Johnathan McKinstry coached-side is now sitting pretty at the top of the pile, four points clear with a game to spare. With their experience, and the fact that they have achieved this with a lean squad of just twenty players, it will be very hard to stop them after they beef up their squad in the current transfer window.