Lincoln's eight-match unbeaten league run came crashing to an end as Port Vale claimed a 1-0 win at Sincil Bank.
Vale's five-man midfield kept a tight control on the game right from the start with Lincoln given no time on the ball.
The winner came in the 25th minute when David Howland smashed a long-range shot into the net leaving City goalkeeper Rob Burch helpless.
Lincoln, who failed to threaten at all in the opening half, stepped up their game after the break.
They should have levelled in the 73rd minute when Aaron Brown put Lee Beevers clear but the defender's shot was blocked by the legs of Vale goalkeeper Joe Anyon.
Anyon did well again eight minutes from time when he threw himself to his right to push out a well-struck free-kick from Brown.
Vale should have added a second goal late on after Luke Rodgers got behind the Lincoln defence. He beat the keeper with his shot but was denied by the post and after the ball came back to Marc Richards, and with the goal at his mercy, the striker fired over.
Football Results
Bournemouth 1-1 Chesterfield Bournemouth are within a win of wiping out the 17-point penalty imposed on them at the start of the season following a 1-1 draw with Chesterfield
Macclesfield 0-1 Gillingham Macclesfield suffered their third successive league defeat courtesy of an early headed goal from Adam Miller which earned Gillingham a 1-0 victory
Shrewsbury 3-0 Luton Promotion-chasing Shrewsbury secured a comfortable 3-0 win over rock-bottom Luton
Grimsby 1-2 Darlington Two goals inside the first 15 minutes secured Darlington a 2-1 win at Grimsby
Bradford 3-3 Barnet Albert Adomah's equaliser earned a deserved point for Barnet in a 3-3 draw at Bradford who had led on three occasions
Brentford 1-2 Rochdale Brentford's stuttering promotion push suffered a second setback in a week as they slipped to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Rochdale
Dag & Red 0-0 Accrington Stanley Accrington held high-flying Dagenham & Redbridge to a goalless draw at a rainswept Victoria Road
Rotherham 0-0 Wycombe Wycombe extended their unbeaten league run to 14 games with a goalless draw at Rotherham who pushed them all the way
Exeter 2-0 Chester Exeter bounced back from their midweek hammering by Chesterfield with an excellent 2-0 victory over Chester at St James' Park
Morecambe 2-0 Aldershot Morecambe clinched their first win in 10 games with a 2-0 victory over Aldershot
