Shrewsbury Town 2 Oxford United 2

Andrew Cherrie

The Specials were one of the greatest, most loved, most cherished bands of the the 20th Century. They won the hearts and minds of a generation. They disappeared, for years on end, making only sporadic, fleeting appearances here and there, denying their adoring fans the opportunity to witness their magic once again. Then one day, out of the blue, the band made a comeback, a joyous occasion in front of sold out arena of screaming diehard followers, each one overcome at the implausibility of such a fantastic event unfolding before their eyes. With each subsequent gig came the question of how to keep the feeling alive, which got me thinking; how exactly do you follow up the such a momentous, emotional, enthralling event?

You take a trip to Shropshire on a Tuesday night, of course.

I may well be clutching hopelessly for a musical parallel here, but I can without doubt sympathise with fans of the Specials who were present at that first triumphant return show on home soil. Whilst each gig thereafter has been great beyond doubt, can you ever truly recreate that sentiment shared by thousands around you upon seeing your heroes make such a marvelous, not to mention rare occurrence so bloody special?

This is a dilemma Oxford fans were faced with as they headed north-west on Tuesday night, given barely sufficient time to recover from Saturday