Crawley boss Scott Lindsey was frustrated it was too little too late following relegation by a one-point despite a 2-1 over 10-man Shrewsbury.
Both teams’ fates were already confirmed before the start of the game, with the fixture already destined to be replayed in Sky Bet League Two next season.
It was a tale of two halves in the dead-rubber affair, with all the action coming in the second period. Just after the break, Crawley won a penalty with Rushian Hepburn-Murphy converting from the spot. Josh Feeney was sent off for dissent for the hosts.
The visitors doubled their advantage in the 60th minute with Max Anderson converting from the edge of the box. Minutes before the end, Mal Benning found the back of the net from close range.
“We go down with one point to spare, that is the frustrating thing for me,” said Lindsey.
“To debrief the game, I think we were dominant with the ball and we made near on 700 passes, we played so well and created chances.
“I was disappointed with the goal we gave away because we wanted to come away from today with a performance, win and clean sheet, but that wasn’t to be.
“It’s another win and it’s important that we get that winning mentality now moving into next season.
“On reflection what we have done since I have come back in, we had nine games to go and 12 points behind and to say we have finished with one point off is almost hard to take in many ways.
“I should be really pleased with that, but I am kind of frustrated that we didn’t do enough to stay up, but it is what it is and I have certainly given everything in my body to the club.”
Shrewsbury boss Michael Appleton said: “I think they (fans) seen that except from a little bit of quality in some cases, I don’t think the effort has ever been questioned.
“Certainly, I can not remember to many times me sort of questioning their effort, I think I had a bit of an issue with some of the things I have seen at Northampton.
“But apart from that, a lot of the time when we have been disappointed it’s been down to quality not effort.
“We have already started from a recruitment point of view, putting things in place and making contact with some potential signings for next year, and that will continue full throttle.
“There are a few things we need to tidy up next week in terms of making sure the season is blocked off and we know exactly what is happening.
“It is going to be a difficult league, but one we will be more than sort of prepared for.”
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