Oxford 3 Shrewsbury 0 - Report
Shrewsbury Town would give anything for a goal right now.
Their defeat to Oxford United in League One saw the run without one stretch to seven games as they lost 3-0 at the Kassam Stadium.
They had created plenty of chances at the weekend against Charlton but had failed to score them - but it was the complete opposite on this occasion.
It felt as though Shrewsbury had changed the narrative after an impressive performance at the weekend - but Matt Taylor's curious team selection in the game at Oxford was a strange and costly decision.
Brandon Fleming was impressive on his first start at the weekend, but he missed out. Taylor Perry has been Town's best player this season, but he was also left on the bench.
Joe Anderson, a centre-back by trade, played at left wing-back as the boss surprised everyone.
He could do little with the way they went behind Marko Marosi spilling a cross which allowed Fin Stevens to fire home.
Chey Dunkley went close for Town in their only real chance of the game inside 30 minutes.
Anderson tried his best, but he was clearly uncomfortable playing out there, and the game was over when he picked up his second yellow card of the evening and was given his marching orders by the referee just after half-time.
To rub insult into injury, Oxford scored from the free-kick he gave away which gave them even more control of the clash.
The Town head coach made changes and either because the U's took their foot off the gas or because Salop had more technical footballers on the pitch they did pick up towards the end of the game, but it was too late.
Their evening was summed up by Marosi's comical mistake which gifted the hosts a third and made it a miserable evening for Salop fans.
ANALYSIS
Town had already won at the Kassam Stadium in 2023 - Ryan Bowman the man with the goal - Killian Phillips with the assist.
It was a quiet opening 15 minutes, which is just what Taylor would have wanted given the defensive nature of his team selection.
But the opening goal was certainly not part of the plan, a ball came in from the left it looked as if Marko Marosi would gather it, but he could only get his fingertips to it.
And Stevens was there at the back post to hammer it into an empty net. Marosi has been excellent for Shrewsbury in the last 18 months - a key player - but this was not his finest moment.
Dunkley could have equalised almost immediately, a bobbling ball fell to him just inside the box, but his effort went into the stands without troubling James Beadle.
Salop almost got punished from their own corner as the hosts broke quickly and with pace.
Brannagan played an inch-perfect pass to set Mark Harris through but the striker, who had so much time, shot wide. A massive moment that would have given Salop a mountain to climb.
Oxford have been in good form of late, winning their last three League One games before this fixture, and you could see the confidence in Liam Manning's side.
Dunkley, who had a tough evening from the bright Harris, was forced to make another block in first-half stoppage time - this time to deny Billy Bodin.
Town would need to be better in the second half if they were to get anything out of the game but having not scored for six games - it looked like a real uphill battle for Taylor's men.
Salop had looked more like scoring against Charlton and Leyton Orient in their previous two games, but it was not the case on a mild evening in Oxfordshire.
And it was game over in the 57th minute, Anderson picking up his second booking after a reckless lunge as he tried to make amends for his lose touch.
From that free-kick, the home side added their second of the evening, as Brown converted from close range, and given Town's issues in front of goal that looked like that.
The boss introduced reinforcements from the bench, with Perry, Fleming, Dan Udoh and Max Mata coming on but it was hard enough with their full allocation on the pitch - let alone being a man down.
Marosi's evening went from bad to worse with the comical goal Town conceded to make it 3-0 in stoppage time - Greg Leigh the man to finish.
Teams
Shrews: Marosi, Feeney, Dunkley, Flanagan, Anderson, Bennett (Perry 62), Winchester (Udoh 62), Kenneh (Sobowale 83), Bayliss, Bowman (Mata 62), Phillips (Fleming 62).
Subs: Burgoyne, Benning, Udoh, Fleming, Mata, Sobowale, Perry.
Oxford: Beadle, Long, Brown, Moore, Brannagan, Bodin (Goodrham 45), Stevens, Harris (O'Donkor 73), Rodrigues (McEachran 63), Leigh, McGuane.
Subs: Eastwood, Thorniley, McEachran, Murphy, Mills, Goodrham, O'Donkor.
