Stockport boss Dave Challinor was visibly frustrated after his side were held to a goalless League One draw by struggling Leyton Orient.
Oliver Norwood struck the crossbar with an audacious 17th-minute free-kick as the hosts went closest to breaking the deadlock in a low-key first half.
Orient winger Theo Archibald unleashed a powerful shot that rattled the woodwork early in the second half.
Just as Stockport were beginning to build momentum, defender Josh Dacres-Cogley was shown a second yellow card for a shirt pull on Dominic Ballard.
Leyton Orient midfielder Ollie O’Neill had an effort cleared off the line late as the away side failed to make their numerical advantage count.
After the match, Challinor felt the draw against League One’s 18th-placed side was a “disappointing” result.
He said: “You’re playing against a Leyton Orient team that are not on the best run of results.
“If the game looks a certain way, you have to adapt and play in a certain way to win the battle – we didn’t do that.
“We didn’t win enough battles, we didn’t drop on second balls and then, I suppose to make that even worse, we made really simple errors in possession of the ball.
“In the second half, we were a little bit better, but then shot ourselves in the foot by giving the ball away, which led to the second yellow card.”
The Stockport boss conceded he had not seen the incident which resulted in Dacres-Cogley being sent off, but asked for more consistent officiating across the division.
He added: “I’ve not seen the red card, so I don’t know. But I would suggest it has probably been given by the fourth official and not the referee.
“I just want consistency. If there is a foul and that’s given and the same foul is given next week, I’m alright with that.
“If the same foul is not, then I’ve got a problem. That’s the biggest bugbear I have, the inconsistency around decisions.”
O’s manager Richie Wellens was delighted with his team’s performance away at one of the league’s in-form sides and praised the impact his new signings made.
He said: “This is a good point to build on. We had plenty of good moments and, when we needed to defend our box, we were solid and put our bodies on the line.
“You get a feel for a group of players and I didn’t feel it at the start of the season.
“Maybe it was me still mourning the team from last year, but the lads have really encouraged me today.
“I like the feeling of this group, so hopefully we can kick on from here.
“Favour (Fawunmi) was outstanding. He was a constant threat and kept the ball when he needed to.
“In net, Toby (Oluwayemi) brought assurance and a presence which spread through the team.”
