Mentor, student settle for a stalemate
Larona Makhaiza | Tuesday October 13, 2026 10:35
The match was significant for Gunners coach, Paradzayi Madivenga, who faced his former employers after spending two years in charge of Police XI, whom he guided to promotion to the FNB Premiership.
Despite the history between the two sides, both coaches appeared satisfied with the result. Police coach, Tony Serumola described the draw against his mentor as a good outcome.
Speaking after the match, he said Police XI knew how to prepare for the encounter, having become familiar with his former coach’s approach.
“The coach is my mentor, my big boss, because we worked together to promote this team. Losing against him was never in our plan,” Serumola said.
“We understand that he is an aggressive person, which is why we brought all the big boys in the first half to match the duels.”
Serumola, who knows Madivenga well, said earning a point against his former mentor was satisfying, given the lessons he had learnt from him.
“Having a point against him, as someone I have learnt from, is good. I am okay and really impressed by the result,” Serumola added.
Reflecting on the game, the coach said he could not fault his players, who gave their all despite missing chances. “It was a good first half, although it was slow, but we stuck to the game plan of not allowing Gunners’ full-backs to advance. In the second half, we made a few changes and increased the tempo.
“We had chances to win the game, so I am happy with the intensity and tempo. My boys worked very hard,” he said.
On the other side, Madivenga shared similar sentiments, describing the match as an emotional occasion as he faced his former team from the opposite dugout.
“This was an emotional game for me because I spent the past two years coaching Police,” Madivenga said.
Despite the draw, he felt his side had the advantage and could have walked away with maximum points.
“The good thing about the game is that they know how I approach matches, and I also know how their players think. So, I think it was an advantage for me because I know at least 90 percent of the players,” Madivenga said.
He, however, pointed to several missed opportunities that could have decided the contest in Gunners’ favour.
“In the second half, we could have done better. This was a 50-50 game, but I think we had more clear-cut chances that we could have converted to win the game in the last 10 minutes,” he said.
Despite the missed chances, Madivenga agreed that the stalemate was a fair result.
“To me, 0-0 was a fair result. We did well and managed to show that we have depth on the road,” he said.
Following the draw, Police XI sit second on the standings with eight points, while Gunners occupy sixth position with seven points.