Rotherham United 1 Shrewsbury Town 3

At the home of one of only two English football grounds with an athletics track, Shrewsbury Town showed further evidence they may be ready to time their sprint down the final straight to perfection.

Such is the congested nature of the chasing pack that it may still require a photo finish to determine who will follow Chesterfield into those coveted automatic promotion berths.

But, after a quickfire Yorkshire double which has propelled them back into the top three places, Town have served notice that they intend to put their noses in front when it matters most.

Just as at Bradford on Saturday, this was a thoroughly convincing Shrewsbury display which combined neat passages of possession on a dreadful Don Valley Stadium pitch with an insatiable appetite for work

It meant the visitors were full value for a ninth away victory of the season which opened up crucial breathing space on Rotherham, one of their chief promotion rivals.

And not even a sickness bug which swept through the Town camp in the build-up could blow Graham Turner's side off course.

The tone was set in a dominant first half display in which Rotherham's only ray of hope came from a Ryan Taylor effort well sa-ved by Ben Smith.

At the other end, Shrewsbury carried a potent attacking threat with James Collins and Tom Bradshaw — a late replacement due to the illness-related withdrawal of Matt Harrold - a constant menace to Rotherham's defence.

If Bradshaw was the hero at Bradford then Collins was to play a pivotal role in Shrewsbury opening up a 3-0 lead inside 48 minutes last night.

His first goal was arguably his most impressive contribution, 'rolling' Rotherham defender Luke Ashworth superbly before rifling home from eight yards.

Crucially, the lead was to be doubled five minutes before half-time when a torrid night for Ashworth took another turn for the worse when he up-ended Collins in the box.

That sparked huge Rotherham protests amid claims - probably justified - of a Collins handball in the build-up, but Nicky Wroe held his nerve to convert Shrewsbury's first penalty of the season.

And a sign that wheel of fortune may also be finally spinning in Town's favour after a run of dubious decisions came with their third goal three minutes after the break.

The perseverance of Bradshaw forced Rotherham keeper Andy Warrington into a hurried clearance and the ball looped off Bradshaw into the path of Collins who had the easiest task to slot into an empty net.

Adam Le Fondre gave Rotherham a smidgen of hope with a 70th minute goal after the otherwise impressive Raven got stuck in the mud.

But fears of a nervy finish were soon abated as the visitors ticked off the minutes to a vital victory.

Several tricky hurdles still need to be cleared before the celebrations can begin.

But, crucially at this stage of the season, the momentum is well and truly behind on-song Shrewsbury as the finishing line beckons.

By JAMES GARRISON