Shrewsbury lost 2-0 to third-placed Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Saturday afternoon.
The Tractor Boys opened the scoring in the 15th minute through George Hirst, who produced a magnificent header from a Wes Burn cross.
The home side doubled their lead in the 51st minute when Massimo Luongo converted from close range.
Chey Dunkley came closest for Town when his header struck the crossbar in the 78th minute.
Manager Steve Cotterill opted for a 4-3-3 system for the trip to Portman Road, with a noticeable absence from the matchday squad being Tom Bayliss.
The creative midfielder has been ruled out for the remainder of the season following ankle ligament damage, with Elliott Bennett replacing the 23-year-old in the middle of the park.
The change of system meant Rob Street led the line with Jordan Shipley on the right flank and Rekeil Pyke on the left.
Kieran McKenna's Ipswich side went with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Hirst in the centre-forward position.
It was Town who created the first opportunity of the game in the fourth minute.
Matt Pennington whipped in a dangerous cross - with Luke Leahy leaping highest in the box and guiding a powerful header goalwards.
But Christian Walton was quick to react - with the keeper acrobatically tipping the ball over the bar.
Following what had been a bright start from both sides, Ipswich went on to open the scoring in the 15th minute.
Burns sent in a dangerous cross from the right. And that was met by Hirst who produced an excellent header to send the ball across Marko Marosi and in.
Following the goal, Steve opted to shift to a 3-5-2 system, with Shipley moving into left wing-back and Taylor Moore on the right. Pyke partnered Street up front.
The game continued to be keenly contested from that point - but Shrewsbury went on to create two decent chances to get an equaliser.
First, the ball was worked to Street in the box - with the forward doing wonderfully well to roll his marker before dinking a cross to the back post.
And that was almost met by Pyke - with a defender just getting to the ball ahead of the striker to prevent him from having a tap-in.
Just moments later - in the 40th minute - we threatened again when Pennington spotted Shipley charging into the box.
After receiving Pennington's pass, Shipley then hit a powerful effort towards goal that Walton did well to get down and beat away.
The Tractor Boys doubled their lead in the 51st minute with Luongo driving into the box, picking up the loose ball from a Chaplin blocked shot, and converting into the bottom corner.
Chaplin was at the heart of the action again minutes later, playing in Hirst on the edge box.
The centre-forward released a powerful shot that hit the base of the post, and Town's defence was able to clear the danger.
Shrewsbury came close to pulling one back just past the hour mark from a Tom Bloxham cross.
Christian Saydee was able to hold off an Ipswich defender in the box but couldn't get his low effort on target.
Town kept pushing and had a chance to get a goal back in the 78th minute from a corner.
The ball reached the danger zone, and Dunkley made himself known and leapt highest, but his effort hit the crossbar and bounced out of play.
This proved to be Town's best and last chance of the game as Town fell to defeat on the road.
Teams
Salop XI:
Marosi (GK), Leahy (C), Pennington, Moore, Winchester, Pyke (Saydee, 60), Bennett (Bowman, 74), Dunkley, Street (Bloxham, 60), Shipley, Flanagan
Unused subs:
Burgoyne (GK), Barlow, Craig
Ipswich XI:
Walton (GK), Davis, Morsy (C), Woolfenden, Burns (Jackson, 86), Chaplin (Edwards, 94), Burgess, Luongo (Vincent-Young, 93), Hirst (Ladapo, 74), Broadhead (Harness, 74), Clarke
Unused subs:
Hladky (GK), Ball
Bookings: Shipley, Pyke, Pennington, Moore, Saydee; Broadhead
Attendance: 26, 432
Away: 343
