Former Portsmouth midfielder could be denied second successive promotion to Championship after 'absolute shocker'

Former Pompey midfielder Owen Moxonplaceholder image
Former Pompey midfielder Owen Moxon | Getty Images
Referring decision causes huge controversy in Leyton Orient v Stockport play-off game

Former Pompey midfielder Owen Moxon could be wrongly denied successive promotions to the Championship.

That’s after his Stockport side were on the wrong end of ‘an absolute shocker’ from referee Ben Speedie during their play-off-semi-final first-leg game against Leyton Orient on Saturday.

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According to Hatters boss Dave Challinor, the official’s decision to allow Charlie Kelman’s first-half opener in the 2-2 draw at Brisbane Road was the ‘worst’ decision he’d seen in 15 years of management.

League One’s top scorer poked home the game’s first goal on 30 minutes despite being yards offside following Omar Beckles’ flick-on.

Two goals in five second-half minutes from Ollie Norwood and Fraser Horsfall put the visitors in front after 65 minutes. But Kelman had the last word on 88 minutes after he netted from the penalty spot to record his 23rd goal in the league this season.

The game is finally balanced ahead of the second leg at Edgeley Park on Wednesday night, with former Fratton Park midfielder Moxon once again expected to make the Hatters starting XI.

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But the 27-year-old - who has made 18 appearances for Stockport since his permanent move in January - could still miss out on a second successive promotion from League One if Speedie’s on-the-pitch decision impacts the aggregate score following the conclusion of the tie.

Leyton Orient opener v Stockport angers Dave Challinor

Speaking about the controversial moment that saw Orient take the lead on Saturday, Challinor said: ‘Massive kudos to our players for reacting in a positive way to a decision which was the worst I’ve seen in my 15 years of management in what was the biggest game of my managerial career.

‘I said earlier on this season that unfortunately promotion and relegation will be decided by not the two teams playing football.

‘I’ve not spoken to the referee or linesman as of yet but the processes are all completely wrong. That was an absolute shocker. When someone is four yards offside that’s really worrying.

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‘I can understand now why there is a scramble to get robots involved and stop human error because incidents like today cannot happen.

‘People are putting tens of millions of pounds into football and things can be dictated by a flag and a whistle and that’s not a good place to be.

‘Credit to the players after the way they performed in the second half. Would I have taken that before the game? Arguably yes but we need to recover and set ourselves up for Wednesday evening which will be a massive game.’

Owen Moxon has kick-started career after Fratton Park frustrations

Owen Moxon, centre, celebrates winning the League One title with Pompeyplaceholder image
Owen Moxon, centre, celebrates winning the League One title with Pompey | Jason Brown/ProSportsImages

Moxon has started Stockport’s past three games as he continues to get the game time he craved during a frustrating year at Fratton Park.

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In total, he’s featured 18 times since signing for the Hatters for an undisclosed fee on transfer deadline day in February and has played 775 minutes of football in that time - which is already nearly three times the amount of playing time he got at the Blues over the first half of the 2024-25 season (267).

After playing a key role in Pompey’s League One title success over the second half of last season, the former Carlisle man fell down the pecking order at Fratton Park as the Blues initially struggled to make the step up to the Championship.

Indeed, Andre Dozzell, loanee Freddie Potts and Marlon Pack were all preferred to Moxon, while Isaac Hayden arrived on loan from Newcastle in January to help bolster numbers in the engine room.

After just 13 appearances in all competitions, the midfielder was allowed to kick-start his career at Stockport. And that’s exactly what he’s doing, with the 27-year-old helping Stockport finish third at the end of the regular season and on the cusp of a potential promotion to the Championship - if further referring decisions don’t get in the way.

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Also standing in the way are either Wycombe and Charlton - whose first-leg game takes place at Adams Park today (6.30pm).

Moxon’s former Fratton Park team-mates, Will Norris and Tom McIntyre play for Wycombe and Charlton respectively.

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