'I understand calls for robots in football' - Challinor

Stockport boss Dave Challinor was left frustrated by officials against Leyton Orient

Aggrieved Stockport County boss Dave Challinor says he understands why people want "robots" involved in football after controversy plagued his side's League One play-off first leg at Leyton Orient.

Challinor's side trailed 1-0 at the break after the officials failed to spot Charlie Kelman was yards offside when he scored Orient's 30th-minute opener in the 2-2 draw.

Challinor labelled the incident "the worst decision I have seen in 15 years of management."

Both sides were awarded penalties in the second half but also each had further strong spot-kick claims ignored by referee Ben Speedie in an eventful tie at Brisbane Road.

"Things are being taken completely out of our control by people not being able to make simple decisions," Challinor told BBC Radio Manchester.

"I get why there is a scramble to ultimately get robots involved and stop human error because that can't happen.

"People are putting tens of millions of pounds into football and things can be dictated by what happens with someone with a flag and a whistle and that's a bad place to be."

Challinor praised his players for channelling their frustration and sense of injustice into turning the game around to lead 2-1, before they were pegged back by Kelman's second goal of the game late on.

"That [Orient's first goal] was always going to be a talking point at the end of the game and you have a choice, whether that becomes an excuse or whether that become a motivation," Challinor said.

"If you feel an injustice what's the best way to try to overcome that injustice?

"We've put in a slog to get 46 games through a league season and countless cup games to be in this position. To look for, or accept, excuses or make an excuse with 45, 50 minutes of a season still to go in this game would be daft.

"You've got to be bigger than that. We've shown real resilience or courage over the last five or six weeks to come from behind and all that work can't be for nothing and credit to the players for performing in the manner they did second half."

The two sides will now meet again in Wednesday's second leg at Edgeley Park (20:00 BST) for a place in the final.

"The game is level going to our place, " Challinor added. "Would I have taken that before the game? Arguably. Would I have taken being in this tie? Arguably. Do I feel that we can feel aggrieved that we've not won the game? Yes.

"But it makes no difference so we've got to recover, get back home, and set ourselves up for what will undoubtedly be an exciting game on Wednesday evening."