Shrewsbury Town 2 (Leitch-Smith 19, Whalley 90+8), Oxford United 0

AJ Leitch-Smith profited from a dreadful error by Simon Eastwood to open the scoring on 19 minutes.

United were woeful in the first half and needed Eastwood to make amends with two smart saves to keep them in the game.

The visitors were vastly improved after the break, but could not cash in during their best spells.

Kane Hemmings and Chris Maguire were thwarted by goalkeeper Mark Halstead as Shrewsbury wobbled, but held firm.

United, who had Liam Sercombe carried off late on, pushed hard and were caught out with almost the last kick of the game when substitute Shaun Whalley went clean through to beat an exposed Eastwood.

• Liam Sercombe is carried off with a knee injury in stoppage-time

Skipper John Lundstram dropped to the bench in the most eye-catching of United’s five changes from the midweek draw at Stamford Bridge.

Ryan Ledson replaced him in the middle of the park, while Charlie Raglan was deployed as a right back with Phil Edwards dropping out of the squad completely.

Chris Maguire inherited the captain’s armband and the forward was the first U’s player to force Halstead into action with a 20-yard snap-shot.

It was a rare moment of action in a very scrappy start to the game.

Shrewsbury were direct and invariably looked to Ivan Toney, who proved adept at winning free-kicks against both Chey Dunkley and Curtis Nelson.

After the striker fired a free-kick, won by himself on Dunkley, just wide, the Newcastle United loanee was involved in the opening goal in the 19th minute.

United complained Toney’s foot was high on Dunkley as he flicked the ball on, but referee Carl Boyeson waved play on.

Louis Dodds advanced and fired a 25-yard shot which Eastwood fumbled on to the crossbar and down into the six-yard box, where Leitch-Smith fell on the ball and somehow forced it over the line.

There were claims the scruffy finish involved a handball, but from United's point of view it was a messy, wholly preventable goal.

But Eastwood, who had barely put a foot wrong all season, went on to make up for the error.

First, the goalkeeper tipped over a dipping volley from Doods, before making an even better save when the same player smashed a low shot from 15 yards from Abu Ogogo’s cutback.

A lacklustre United had problems all over the pitch. Raglan looked very unsteady at full back, while the centre halves struggled against Toney.

Further forward the midfield, particularly the new-look partnership of Ledson and Joe Rothwell, struggled to establish themselves and left the front two isolated.

The home side did not look watertight in defence, but all too often United squandered promising positions by simply passing the ball out of play.

When they returned for the second half it was surprising to see Michael Appleton had not made any changes.

But whatever the U’s boss said at the interval, it inspired a response which made the visitors unrecognisable from their first half performance.

• Chris Maguire, captain with John Lundstram dropping to the bench, holds off a challenge

With their first quality move of the game Maguire held the ball up and fed the sprinting Sercombe, whose cross was met powerfully by Hemmings’s head, forcing an excellent save.

It began a ten-minute spell where Shrewsbury were pinned back.

Halstead palmed a Maguire free-kick round the post for a corner, from which Dunkley headed narrowly over.

With the next attack Marvin Johnson’s low cross was punched by Halstead on to Hemmings four yards out, but the ball ricocheted inches wide.

Ledson lashed a shot which was deflected for a corner and Nelson nodded a Maguire free-kick just off target as the onslaught continued.

Shrewsbury were wobbling, but United could not capitalise and around the hour their momentum slowed.

The hosts fought to get back on an even keel, although a solitary header from Toney which went wide was closest they came to doubling the lead.

In the final 15 minutes the home side, desperate for a win to climb off the foot of the table, looked to shut up shop.

Despite manager Paul Hurst waving his team forward, they began to retreat and United, bolstered by substitutes Rob Hall and Wes Thomas, came again.

But the closest they came was a shot from Sercombe which slid the wrong side of the post.

Instead, it took another excellent save from Eastwood to keep out Adam El-Abd’s powerful header at a corner three minutes from time.

The U’s goalkeeper also tipped a Toney shot round the post in stoppage-time, during which the visitors had Sercombe stretchered off.

United’s miserable afternoon still had one final twist, when Whalley burst clear to dink a finish over Eastwood after Maguire’s free-kick was cleared.

Shrewsbury Tn: Halstead, Grimmer, El-Abd, Lancashire, Sadler, Deegan, O’Brien (Black 64), Ogogo, Dodds (Smith 90), Toney, Leitch-Smith (Whalley 76).

Unused subs: Burton, Whalley, Sarcevic, Waring, Jones.

Oxford Utd: Eastwood, Raglan, Nelson, Dunkley, Skarz (Thomas 77), Sercombe (Lundstram 90), Rothwell, Ledson (Hall 71), Johnson, Maguire, Hemmings.

Unused subs: Stevens, Ruffels, Crowley, MacDonald.

Referee: Carl Boyeson (East Yorkshire).

Attendance: 5,491 (900 visitors).