Macauley Bonne was the hero once again as Town recorded back-to-back wins for the first time under Paul Cook by beating Shrewsbury 2-1 at Portman Road. Conor Chaplin gave the Blues the lead in the 23rd minute, but Shaun Whalley levelled for Shrewsbury on 28, however, 10 minutes in the second half Bonne flicked home his ninth goal of the season from a Lee Evans corner to seal a deserved three points.
Chaplin replaced Bersant Celina as the number 10 in a Town side otherwise unchanged from the one which thrashed Doncaster 6-0 and was beaten 2-1 at Accrington.
Celina is currently away with Kosovo, who play Sweden in a World Cup qualifier in Stockholm at 5pm.
Shrewsbury were unchanged from the team which lost 2-1 in their last league game at Bolton last weekend. Elliott Bennett, whose father died earlier in the week, was handed the captaincy, while former Blues loanee Matthew Pennington was on the right of their back three.
Ahead of kick-off both teams took a knee to warm applause from around Portman Road.
There was an early minor scare for the Blues when keeper Vaclav Hladky kicked against Daniel Udoh but George Edmundson and then Janoi Donacien cleared the potential for danger.
Town, unusually shooting towards the Sir Bobby Robson Stand in the first half, struck the first effort of the game in the third minute, Lee Evans, a hat-trick scorer in his last game at Portman Road, curling a free-kick not too far wide of Shrews keeper Marko Marosi’s left post after skipper Sam Morsy had been fouled just outside the area to the left.
The Blues had the ball in the net in the eighth minute in a familiar fashion but with the linesman’s flag raised. Evans played in Wes Burns on the right and the Welshman crossed low for Macauley Bonne to tap home what would have been his ninth of the campaign but for the on-loan QPR man having strayed offside.
Town were dominating the early stages, moving the ball around swiftly with Shrewsbury struggling to get out of their half.
On 16 Burns headed into the side-netting at the far post from a Scott Fraser free-kick on the right - which had been delayed by jostling in the area - won after the former Fleetwood man had been fouled by George Nurse.
The game continued in the same manner and on 18 Matt Penney wasn’t too far away from his first goal at Portman Road and his second of the season when Fraser played a corner to him 25 yards out and the ex-Sheffield Wednesday man struck a powerful shot only just beyond Marosi’s left post with several of his team-mates making lunges towards it to add a final touch.
Ryan Bowman headed Shrewsbury’s first effort on goal weakly to Hladky in the 20th minute but aside from that it had been all Town and three minutes later they took the lead.
Morsy played a half-cleared ball wide to Penney, who crossed towards Bonne at the far post. Town’s top scorer headed across goal, Marosi saved but Chaplin was on hand to net his second goal in two games and his third of the season, all in his last four appearances.
But the lead lasted only five minutes. Shrewsbury started to show some attacking threat and on 28 Shaun Whalley brushed aside Morsy as they battled for a loose ball and unleashed a 25-yard left-foot shot which flew past Hladky to his right and into the net.
The Blues, in total control up until their goal, started to show nervy signs and Shrewsbury might have gone ahead on the half hour when Udoh crossed from the left and Bowman turned over at the near post when he will feel he should have found the target.
The Shrews were forced into a change on 35 when Bowman suffered a knock with on-loan Birmingham striker Sam Cosgrove taking over.
Cameron Burgess got his name in referee Will Finnie’s book in the 39th minute for dragging back Cosgrove as the sub escaped down the right.
In the penultimate scheduled minute Shrews goalscorer Whalley scraped an effort from the edge of the box to the right well wide with the Blues ending the half scrappily.
During three minutes of injury time, the Blues finally seemed to regain some composure, passing the ball around with their earlier confidence until Bonne was flagged offside.
It had been half of two halves from Town, who had completely dominated and fully deserved their goal when it came, Chaplin continuing his recent good form in front of goal.
But from there the Blues allowed Shrewsbury, who had looked every bit a side second-bottom of the table, back into the match.
Morsy will feel he ought to have been stronger as he battled with Whalley for the ball ahead of the Shrews forward’s strike which gave Hladky no chance.
The Blues were scruffy, nervy and hesitant from there, only seeming to regain their composure in the closing moments.
The second half started much like the early period of the first with the Blues dominating and Shrewsbury unable to find a way out of their own territory.
And in the 55th minute, they restored their lead. Evans whipped over a corner from the left which had been won by Penney and Bonne flicked his ninth goal of the season - his eighth in his last seven matches - past Marosi and into the net. The goal had been coming with Town having started the half very strongly.
On 67, with neither side having threatened since the Blues’ goal, Nurse was booked for a foul on Burns as the winger looked to get on a return pass down the right.
Three minutes later, Bonne was inches away from making it 3-1 and claiming his 10th of the season when Penney picked up a loose ball on the left and sent a powerful low ball across the edge of the six-yard box which both the striker and keeper Marosi were just unable to reach.
Town swapped Burns for Kyle Edwards in the 73rd minute with the former West Brom man moving to left wing and Fraser to the right. Shrewsbury made a double change with Nathanael Ogbeta replacing Aaron Pierre and Tom Bloxham taking over from Udoh.
The Blues claimed a penalty a minute later as Ethan Ebanks-Landell’s hand appeared to divert a long ball down the middle away from Bonne. The Town striker was convinced but referee Finnie and his assistant were both unmoved.
Shrewsbury protested they should have been awarded a penalty a minute later when, after some miscommunication in the Town defence, Bloxham fed in Luke Leahy inside the area where he ended up on the turf before Edmundson played it out for a corner. Again referee Finnie was unmoved and there looked to have been little contact despite the vociferous protests.
Penney underwent treatment for a knock and in the 80th minute was replaced by former Shrew Toto Nsiala with Burgess moving to left-back as he did at Lincoln when Hayden Coulson suffered an injury from which the on-loan Boro man is close to returning.
Town were well in control and looking for a third as the game moved into its final five minutes.
On 88 Bonne was replaced by Joe Pigott to a standing ovation from the home support having won another game for his boyhood club.
The Blues again thought they should have been awarded a penalty in injury time when Fraser looked to be tripped by David Davis but referee Finnie adjudged the Town man to have dived and, much to the Scot’s frustration, yellow-carded the ex-MK Dons man. Moments later, Edmundson joined him in the book for a foul on Cosgrove.
A third Town goal looked a more likely prospect in injury time than a second Shrewsbury equaliser but given the Blues’ season up to now there was still some edginess around the ground until referee Finnie blew his whistle.
Having got their noses deservedly in front in the first half, the Blues made heavy weather of the first half from there allowing Shrewsbury back into the game.
However, in the later stages of the first period and after the restart Town regained their dominance and Bonne once again was the man on the spot to score the goal.
Another goal would have made the closing stages more comfortable but other than the penalty incident, the Shrews never looked like getting back on terms.
The Blues are up to 14th in the table, six points from the play-offs and 10 from the top two. Bonne's nine goals make him the joint-top scorer in League One along with Morecambe's Cole Stockton.
Following Tuesday’s Papa John’s Trophy win at Gillingham, the Blues have won back-to-back games for the first time under manager Cook, while they have lost only one of their last six in all competitions going into next week’s trip to Cambridge United.
Town: Hladky, Donacien, Edmundson, Burgess, Penney (Nsiala 80), Morsy (c), Evans, Burns (Edwards 73), Chaplin, Fraser, Bonne (Pigott 81). Unused: Holy, El Mizouni, Harper, Aluko.
Shrewsbury: Marosi, Leahy, Ebanks-Landell, Pennington, Pierre (Ogbeta 73), Whalley, Udoh (Bloxham 73), Bowman (Cosgrove 35), Davis, Bennett (c), Nurse. Unused: Burgoyne, Pyke, Caton, Lashabela. Att: 19,256 (Shrewsbury: 202).