With the visitors – who were down to ten men following the sending off of striker Michael Malcolm in the 72nd minute – looking likely to secure a 2-1 victory and second away win of the season, their young, on-loan Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme had a lapse in concentration that will haunt him for a long, long time.
After safely taking a free-kick into his possession, Ikeme put the ball to the floor with the intention of dribbling it to the edge of the penalty area and waste a few more valuable seconds.
What he failed to realise, however, was that Shrewsbury substitute Mark Jackson – who moved to Gay Meadow on-loan this week from Preston – was behind him. Jackson acted quickly to nick the ball from Ikeme's toe and pass it to Langmead who then had the simple task of slotting it into an empty net to notch his second goal of the campaign and spare the home side's blushes at the end of a lacklustre performance.
Shortly after the half hour County broke the deadlock when Tes Bramble – younger brother of Newcastle star Titus – pounced on some hesitant defending to side-foot the ball past teenage Shrewsbury goalkeeper Joe Hart, who was again watched by scouts from a number of Premiership clubs.
But Shrewsbury were level on the stroke of half-time when centre-back Dave Walton nodded home a free-kick from Town skipper Kevin Sharp.
Seven minutes after the break Chris Turner's men regained the lead when Malcolm tuned home Bramble's header across the goalmouth – only for the Stockport striker to be dismissed 18 minutes from time. Booked for his protests at not being awarded a penalty in the first-half, he was ordered off for second bookable offence - that of knocking the ball away after Shrewsbury were awarded a free-kick.
But the ten men of Stockport appeared likely to hold on – until that is Ikeme was punished for his negligence that brought Shrewsbury a point that had looked beyond them.