Super Shrewsbury are on a roll and long may it continue

In sport, winning becomes a habit, and Salop seem to have mastered it at the moment.

They have the perfect recipe.

They are not letting any goals in at one end – conceding just two in the last five games.

And they keep scoring them at the other – netting 13 goals in the same period.

Salop fans simply cannot ask for any more.

The Town boss has recruited a team of individuals who are 100 per cent committed to the cause and when the chips are down they always come out swinging.

Saturday’s game against Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium always had a tricky feel to it. Town had not won there since December 2014 and they had notoriously struggled against this set of opponents both in Cotterill’s time in charge and also his predecessors.

Ryan Bowman’s goal in the 75th minute was the moment of quality in this game as he expertly finished Killian Phillips’ lobbed ball over the top.

You cannot help but be delighted for Bowman, who has had some difficult moments this season. He has not featured too often, and he was sent off in the game against Cambridge at the end of December.

So for him to be able to come off the bench and make the all-important difference for his side, in two consecutive games, will give the forward a big confidence boost.

He has taken both goals tremendously well, too, and he will want to keep building on this form as he stakes a claim for a place in the starting XI.

The boss said post-match he was relieved his side took all three points after he spent Wednesday night marooned on the motorway on the way back from watching Oxford take on Barnsley in League One, a game the U’s also lost.

He said the win makes the hard unseen work all the more worthwhile.

Matthew Pennington was ruled out of the clash before the game, the defender has had an excellent season but he took a bang on the head during the closing stages of the win against Forest Green Rovers – it is nothing overly concerning for Shrews but it meant they needed a re-shuffle.

Up stepped the reliable Taylor Moore, who was moved from the right wing-back position, a place in the Shrewsbury team he has really made his own in recent times.

In came Rekeil Pyke for his first start since Boxing Day – perhaps a little surprising to see Pyke get the nod ahead of Elliott Bennett who would have been in the Town manager’s thinking.

But at the moment every single decision Cotterill makes ends up being the right one – this was just another example of that.

The game started and the Kassam Stadium pitch was worn, so the game was never going to be total football, it was scrappy.

But the hosts were the brighter, especially in the early part of the encounter but Marko Marosi was excellent.

He made a couple of important saves, he has been quiet for a while, as Salop’s shot-stopper has not been required all too often with the run they are on.

But when he was called into action on this occasion, he was up to the task.

He turned Kyle Jopseph’s effort behind in the opening stages, before saving a dangerous Brandon Fleming free-kick from distance.

The hosts were on top in the opening half-an-hour, that man Joseph also had an effort that cannoned into the post when he fired across Marosi after getting in behind the Shrewsbury back line.

Town settled, and with the help of a terrible surface the game became broken and scrappy – Billy Bodin going off injured would not have been ideal for the U’s either.

The second half started in a similar fashion to the first, with Town defending well, but not having too much of a sniff at the other end.

But they changed things, introducing Tom Bloxham, who hit the crossbar with a brilliant effort, and Bowman, who in fairness, aside from his goal, made a real impact when he came on.

When the goal did come, the final 15 minutes plus stoppages was perhaps the most convincing Shrews were all game with the hosts never threatening after Town took the lead.

The result leaves them three points from sixth-placed Barnsley, who drew at Portsmouth.

They are within touching distance at the moment, and if they can maintain this form then the play-offs are certainly a possibility.

The boss is keeping his feet on the ground and not getting carried away. He will want another three points when they host Port Vale next weekend.