So it’s 26 matches down, 20 to go – and very much game on for Shrewsbury Town’s promotion push. 

A weekend which began with Paul Simpson’s men knowing defeat to Darlington would have left them cut a little adrift of the automatic promotion places ended with them just one point behind second place. 

And while Town have certainly played better and lost this term, there is no doubting just how imperative this success was.

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It also meant Shrewsbury became only the fifth team in England – Wolves, Reading, Preston and Leicester are the others – to chalk up 10 home Football League victories this season. 

Darlington merited a point from an encounter which they ended with just 10 men following the sending off of Ricky Ravenhill with eight minutes remaining.

But this victory provided further evidence that it has taken less than two years for Town to take full advantage of the home comforts of the Prostar Stadium. 

Joy at the impressive statistics on home territory, however, will be somewhat tempered so long as the miserable away form continues. 

A fresh chance to correct that comes tomorrow at Barnet, who possess the worst home record in the division. 

And, with the pressure of leadership appearing to be taking take their toll on the previously infallible Wycombe, Town have every incentive to finally get it right on the road. 

They will head to north London buoyed by Saturday’s victory, even if they will be only too aware they must improve on that performance. 

On a day when Shrewsbury often squandered the ball all too easily, they dug deep into their reserves of endeavour and sheer will to win to drag themselves to victory. 

They had the perfect start as Richard Walker grabbed his second goal in a week to give Town the lead inside five minutes. 

Up until this point, the man who broke Town’s hearts at Wembley almost two years ago has endured a stop-start loan stint from Bristol Rovers. 

But after finding the net for the second time during the Grant Holt suspension – this one a poacher’s finish after a Ben Davies strike had inadvertently struck Neil Ashton before dropping invitingly for the striker – Walker has now given himself a platform from which to kick on for the remainder of the campaign.

Despite Chris Humphrey producing another performance which displayed signs of increasing maturity, Town’s only other first half opportunities came from headers from Davies and Graham Coughlan.

Undoubtedly, the crisper first half play came from Darlington, for whom Pawel Abbott will have reflected on a day when he mis-fired badly he front of goal. 

He dragged one half opportunity wide, while should certainly have done better when Luke Daniels spilled a Danny Carlton shot. 

The ball dropped perfectly for Abbott but he elected to take a touch and, under pressure from Kelvin Langmead, his weak shot allowed Coughlan to clear the goalbound effort. 

That formed part of a day of resolute defending from Town, with Darren Moss, Langmead and Coughlan all making last-ditch challenges on Rob Purdie shots. 

The hosts enjoyed a greater share of possession after the break, the introduction of Luke Chadwick and switch to a 4-4-2 formation offering Walker greater support. 

But they were still grateful to Daniels, who grew stronger as the afternoon went on, for two notable saves in quick succession. 

He firstly tipped a dipping volley from Abbott over and, from the resulting corner, produced an excellent point blank stop to keep out a Carlton header. 

The final eight minutes became a little easier for Shrewsbury to negotiate when Ravenhill was dismissed for a second booking after tangling with the impressive Steve Leslie as he raced to collect the ball after Darlington had been awarded a free-kick. 

A subsequent melee brought yellow cards for Coughlan and Neil Ashton for Town and Steve Foster for the visitors. 

But Shrewsbury regained the composure and saw out the closing stages with few scares to produce a priceless victory which puts them firmly in the promotion picture.

By James Garrison