Kamari Doyle put the Grecians in front as early as the ninth minute when he stole the ball after some sloppy defending and fired home.

Shrewsbury, which came into the match off only its second vistory this season, responded well to going behind, but was unable to find a way past Joe Whitworth in the Exeter goal.

The Crystal Palace loanee pulled off a particularly remarkable double save in the 22nd minute to keep his side in front heading into the break, while other presentable chances went begging for the hosts.

They might have had a penalty if VAR were available to match officials in the EFL when Mal Benning's shot hit Ryan Woods's hand inside the box on 25 minutes, but there were no appeals from the home side nor its fans when there might otherwise have been.

Exeter doubled the lead just after the hour mark.

Two substitutes combined when Jack Aitchison was put through and squared the ball for Josh Magennis to tap home the simplest of finishes and put the game to bed.

Shrewsbury's spirit drained from that point on, an eighth defeat leaves it 21st in the 24-team division with just two wins from 12 matches, more played than any other League One side.