Shrewsbury 2 Oxford 3: Lewis Cox and Richard Fletcher analysis - WATCH

Sam Ricketts’ side were 2-1 up and comfortable again the depleted U’s at half-time but were punished for falling asleep by speedy forward Whyte.

Whyte netted early for Oxford but Ollie Norburn’s penalty and Greg Docherty’s strike, after Ahmed Kashi saw red, had the hosts looking healthy, with safety all-but mathematically tied-up.

But a staggering second-half capitulation, where the visitors scored twice in five minutes in the final quarter, meant Town’s relegation fears surfaced again. Shrews’ gap to safety, at one point seven points, is down to four with two to play.