Shrewsbury came out on top in the battle of two of League Two's high-flyers at the Greenhous Meadow this evening.
A goal either side of the break from Mark Wright and Marvin Morgan saw the Shrews extend their unbeaten run at home to 24 games.
It was the visitors who began the stronger in wet and windy conditions and almost took the lead but Billy Clarke's dangerous corner failed to be converted.
Clarke then had the chance himself to put the Red Devils ahead but directed his header straight at Chris Neal.
Crawley did take the lead after 33 minutes when Akinde latched onto a Clarke through ball and finished low past Neal.
The lead didn't last long however, as Salop drew level a minute before the break when Wright pounced on a low ball before beating one defender and drilling low past Rene Gilmartin.
After the interval Crawley continued to press but it was the home side who completed a turnaround when Morgan found space in the area and slid across Gilmartin into the far corner.
The win sees Graham Turner's side move above Southend and into the automatic promotion places.
