They have been there, seen it and done it time and time again this season.

Yet, digesting the away day blues gets no easier for Shrewsbury Town.

Just as at Wycombe a fortnight earlier, there was an overwhelming case to be made for Paul Simpson’s side not earning the reward their performance truly merited at Bury yesterday.

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But, once again, moments of malfunction in both 18 yard boxes proved their downfall as the good work from one of their most accomplished displays on the road was washed away.

And, in a period of the season which Sir Alex Ferguson famously labelled ‘squeaky bum time,’ it is results and not performances which are sacrosanct.

Damaging then that, while Town entered this encounter unbeaten in seven games they ended it with just one win from the last 10, draws becoming far too commonplace in recent weeks.

Yes, Good Friday will go down as the day that Town’s initial aim of automatic promotion finally drifted out of reach.

And, after a defeat which means their winless League streak on the road has now stretched to 20 games, there is no guarantee a play-off place will be secured.

Shrewsbury have, somehow, managed to cling onto their position in the top seven up until now, their rivals plagued by an attack of the end-of-season jitters.

But there is a strong probability they will end part one of the Easter weekend outside the cut line for the play-offs after today’s results.

And, should that be the case, it would be a major surprise if anything less than three victories from the final four games will suffice.

If results are providing little to inject confidence at present, Simpson’s side can at least glean some consolation from an encouraging away showing against a Bury side now well placed for automatic promotion.

At times moving the ball purposefully around a greasy surface slickened by rain, Town were left to reflect on the concession of a brace of frustrating goals as a mightily impressive 1,000-plus away contingent went home disappointed.

The Bury opener arrived in the only minute of first half injury time after a first period Town controlled.

And there was real consternation amongst the visitors that they found themselves behind at the break to a controversial penalty.

It was open to debate whether Graham Coughlan made any contact with Andy Morrell as the Bury forward went to ground, although Simpson was moved to claim referee Tony Bates had been “conned.”

But the man in the middle had little doubt and Phil Jevons coolly slotted home from the spot.

The winner, when it arrived 10 minutes from time, was all too easy, and wasn’t it just in the script that former Town forward Glynn Hurst would down his former club.

There seemed little danger when a long ball forward from Efe Sodje was flicked on by Andy Bishop.

But there appeared confusion between Luke Daniels and Kelvin Langmead and Hurst capitalised on a moment’s hesitation from the defender to connect with a lob over the stranded goalkeeper.

It was a finish which outlined Hurst’s predatory instincts but, that apart, Bury were to have just one further shot on target, a speculative effort from Bishop which Daniels dealt with comfortably.

In contrast, Shrewsbury were to carve out four opportunities in the first half alone.

Grant Holt forced Bury goalkeeper Wayne Brown into a decent low save with a 20-yard effort, while a back post header deflected off a defender and back across the face of the goal but fractionally wide of the post.

Nick Chadwick volleyed just wide of the target while Davies drew another save from Brown.

The visitors deservedly cancelled out the Jevons penalty when Chadwick headed home a Ben Davies cross for his first goal for Town on 55 minutes.

Hurst’s late strike left Town shell-shocked and their hopes of a sixth successive draw faded when an angled drive from Davies flashed across the face of goal finished up just the wrong side of the Bury post.

All of which left Shrewsbury contemplating a defeat they barely deserved but could ill-afford as the games run out.

A hectic Easter concludes with the visit of Rochdale on Monday – and there is little room for error if play-off hopes are to be retained.

By James Garrison