Let the inquest begin.

Realistically, if not quite mathematically, Shrewsbury Town’s already slim play-off aspirations stopped flickering on Saturday.

The final rites of a season which will be remembered for its under-achievement were administered with a defeat to Northampton which Paul Simpson and his side could have few complaints about.

A campaign which began with such hope and expectation has effectively ended with two games to go.

Yes, Town have had more than their fair share of injury problems and, on occasions, they have looked the part.

But the inescapable fact over the last nine months is that Shrewsbury simply haven’t been good enough and have come up short.

And, in many ways, Saturday’s display succinctly summed up the previous nine months.

Right up until the final whistle was blown on the game and their promotion chances, Town gave everything to the cause.

Their work ethic couldn’t be doubted.

But more than that is required to turn mid-table mediocrity into a promotion challenge, and Town haven’t been able to consistently deliver.

The defensive reliability displayed for the much part has been undermined by the concession of sloppy goals, a list extended by Northampton’s opener here.

Creativity

At the other end, Shrewsbury have lacked the nous, creativity, pace and spark to provide a regular supply of chances and goals.

And that was pretty much the story of Saturday.

The visitors mustered plenty of encouraging attacking positions yet forced Northampton goalkeeper Jason Steele into just one notable save.

And, while the hosts didn’t have a shot on target in the opening period, they could ultimately have run out winners by a greater margin.

“We worked hard and I thought we disturbed them in the first half,” said Australian defender Shane Cansdell-Sherriff.

“But it wasn’t that way in the second half.

“I think we lacked some clinicalness around the goal and they caught us pushing.

“But I don’t think the score reflected the game and the first goal was massive.”

The game-changing moment arrived on 54 minutes as Northampton took the lead.

With victory essential for both teams, the first strike was always likely to be vital and it went the way of the Cobblers when Adebayo Akinfenwa fed Billy McKay.

His smart turn from 10 yards did for Kelvin Langmead, and the Northampton striker finished impressively past the helpless Dave Button.

The goal came as no surprise with the Cobblers’ attacking threat far out-weighing Shrewsbury’s tepid efforts in the final third.

The visitors were to have their moments with Steve Leslie curling a 20-yard shot just wide and Benjamin van den Broek firing a weak effort straight at Steele.

But with Northampton winger Liam Davis a constant first half thorn in the side of Dean Holden, it was Shrewsbury’s defence which was stretched more often.

David Button wasn’t forced into a save in that opening period but Akinfenwa spurned two opportunities while Davis narrowly failed to get his head on a golden chance with the goal gaping.

McKay’s opener forced Shrewsbury to throw caution to the wind and they operated with as many as four strikers in the closing stages following the introduction of Kris Bright and Tom Bradshaw.

But it says much for their paucity of chances that, despite plenty of possession in the final third, the closest the visitors came to a leveller was when home defender Andy Holt – a former Town loanee – sliced an attempted clearance on to his own bar.

At the other end McKay drilled just wide before the game was put beyond doubt eight minutes from time with an unstoppable 30-yard rocket from Kevin Thornton, brother of former Shrewsbury loanee Sean.

It could have got worse for the visitors with McKay and Gilligan – albeit with the aid of a deflection – striking the post.

But the damage had already been done, both on the afternoon and in a season which promised so much back in August but hasn’t delivered.

By James Garrison