United picked the vital first-leg victory at Mbaraki Stadium in Mombasa on Thursday. Spurred on by a huge crowd, United scored the opener from the penalty spot courtesy of Dennis Mabeya in the 63rd minute.
United doubled their lead in the 73rd minute through Waziri Shentembo before Sharks grabbed a vital consolation in the 83rd minute when Wayne Otieno found the back of the net.
Both teams agreed to settle their promotion-relegation matter through a two-legged play-off following a mediation process initiated by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) under the leadership of President Hussein Mohammed.
The play-off came against the backdrop of the prolonged delay in kicking off the 2026/27 FKF Premier League, with the composition of the top-flight among the issues that have held up the new campaign.
The High Court in Murang’a had directed that the season should not commence before Sharks and Mombasa United played a promotion/relegation play-off.
Sharks were forced to play in the play-offs after finishing second from the bottom. Going into the fixture, they looked the favourites considering they were coming up against a team that had not tested Premier League football.
Sharks coach William Muluya paraded a strong squad which included new signings with Collins Omondi starting between the sticks while Steve Mbulere, Zablon Kutera, and Ian Taifa manned the defence line.
Ghai Panchol and captain Patilah Omotto took charge of the midfield role with Faiz Opande, and Keagan Ndemi supporting attackers Frankline Amollo and Austine Tandasi.
The return leg will be played in Nairobi on the 6th of October with the overall winner competing in the Kenyan top-flight.
Gor Mahia to keep coach Akonnor
Gor Mahia Secretary General Nic Arum has called on the club faithful to support coach Charles Akonnor despite the record champions going out of the CAF Champions League at the first preliminary round stage.
K’Ogalo went down 7-1 on aggregate against former champions Pyramids. The first leg in Nairobi ended 2-0 with the return leg in Cairo seeing Gor Mahia lose 5-1.
“We cannot blame the coach and judge him for our exit from the Champions League. He was not exposed to competitive matches before this campaign, and that is something we have to consider,” Arum told the club’s official website.
“In football, there are only three results - a win, a draw or a loss. We have to accept that and learn from what happened.”
Arum added: “Even in CECAFA, we cannot blame the coach. He was not subjected to competitive football before the tournament, but he still managed to take the team to the final.
“Let us give him time and see what will come out of it.”
With the 2026/27 season kick-off now on the horizon, Gor Mahia will be chasing their record 23rd league title in history.
No other club has lifted the Kenyan league trophy as many times as Gor Mahia. Their 22nd championship put them 10 titles ahead of Tusker FC and AFC Leopards, who have 12 each.
