THE result outweighed Oxford United’s performance for head coach Michael Appleton, who was delighted to see his side sign off their campaign on a high.

Early goals from Curtis Nelson and Rob Hall were good enough to beat Shrewsbury Town 2-0 and claim an eighth-place finish in Sky Bet League One.

Although United barely got out of second gear in what was at times a very scrappy contest, Appleton was more concerned about heading into the summer on the back of a third successive victory.

He said: “At half-time I said to the players, I’d love to demand a performance in the second half, but the reality is I asked for two things – try to keep a clean sheet, but more importantly win the game.

“The last game of the season you want to finish on a high, which means picking up the three points rather than (giving) a performance.

“Even before we got the nine points our performances were pretty good.

“I knew they were capable of keeping going, but it’s more satisfying when it happens.”

Appleton was not surprised with the nature of the game, which was broken up by stoppages.

A clash of heads forced Joe Skarz off and fellow full back Christian Ribeiro followed him down the tunnel with a hamstring injury, all before the 15th minute.

United were also able to name only six substitutes, as Conor McAleny withdrew in the morning with an ankle problem.

Appleton said: “It was difficult, because it was a bit disjointed.

“We knew Conor had a knock but we didn’t know how bad it was.

“On top of that, we had to change our full backs. For the players to keep their concentration and stay focused was the most pleasing thing.”