A second half penalty from ex-Imp Ciaran Toner condemned the Imps to a derby day defeat at Sincil Bank on Saturday afternoon.

Toner's effort came after the teams went into the break a goal apiece and had a late header from Nat Brown not been disallowed and a clear foul on Lee Beevers in the Grimsby area been spotted by referee Darren Deadman we could well have been looking at a different outcome.

Grimsby took the lead in the 17th minute when a Toner cross struck the outstretched leg of centre-back Justin Whittle whose fortuitous effort sailed as if in slow motion past a rooted Alan Marriott but City rallied and levelled matters seven minutes before the break when Jamie Forrester curled home after being set up by Steve Torpey.

In the end it was Toner's 52nd minute penalty separated the sides at the whistle. The spot kick given after Isaiah Rankin went down somewhat theatrically under an Adie Moses challenge.

Match report by John Vickers at Sincil Bank Stadium:

There was one change to the City starting XI for this Coca-Cola League 2 derby encounter against Grimsby Town at Sincil Bank with Adie Moses returning at the heart of the defence. His return saw Lee Beevers move across to right-back with Ryan Amoo dropping to the bench.

The rare occurrence of a noon kick-off greeted the two sides as they made their way out on to the pitch which had undergone a heavy pre-match watering courtesy of the sprinkler system installed underneath the surface.

Darren Deadman was the man in charge and he got things underway with City attacking the IMPS Stand in the opening period.

It was a pretty quiet opening with the Mariners keen to keep possession in midfield, with their manager Alan Buckley starting the game with five spread across the middle.

In fact it wasn't until the 12 minute until either side threatened with a Jamie Forrester centre was cleared over his own bar by a Town defender. Two more corners quickly followed as the Imps looked for the breakthrough but a combination of stout defending and poor crossing ensured the game remained goalless.

Grimsby's response saw full-back Tom Newey go on a surging run before he was upended by Nat Brown. A yellow card for the City man and a free-kick to Town was the outcome with the Imps back in numbers when the set-piece came in.

A corner to the visitors followed and when this was played back in by ex-Imp Ciaran Toner, it struck the outstretched leg of centre-back Justin Whittle who looked on in disbelief as the ball sailed as if in slow motion past a rooted Alan Marriott to give the Mariners the lead.

Almost straight from the restart some hesitation from Marriott saw Paul Bolland close his clearance down to win a corner whilst at the other end good work from Dany N'Guessan saw him win a free-kick on the left. Frecklington's delivery was good but the Town men threw themselves in front of things left, right and centre in a bid to preserve their lead and when Toner brought the ball forward referee Deadman pulled Brown up for another foul.

Just after the half-hour mark Isaiah Rankin then forced another corner for Grimsby and when the ball was played to the back stick it was met by the head of Nick Fenton but well positioned on the line was Louis Dodds to chest into the arms of Marriott.

City replied by putting together their first decent move of the game with the clinical touch being that from Steve Torpey who cushioned the ball into the path of Jamie Forrester who did the rest. The former Grimsby forward cut inside his man, looked up, dropped his shoulder and curled a beauty past Phil Barnes in the Town goal for his second of the season.

The Imps' tails were up now with N'Guessan heading a Forrester cross wide seconds after the restart whilst Dodds went down under a James Hunt challenge but Mr Deadman was on the spot to wave play on.

Two minutes of added time came and went without incident so it was all-square as the players went in for their half-time breather.

HT: IMPS 1 GRIMSBY 1

The visitors were out well in advance of the Imps ahead of the second period but once all 22 players were present and correct, play resumed.

City started brightly with N'Guessan forcing Whittle to concede a corner four minutes into the second half but when Frecklington floated the flag-kick into the mix, N'Guessan could only direct his header well wide.

Grimsby replied by making the most of a stray lay-off by Torpey which set them going forward through Rankin who subsequently went down theatrically under Adie Moses' challenge. Former City man Ciaran Toner took the responsibility from the spot and although Marriott went the right way the ball had too much pace on it and nestled in the bottom left corner.

Louis Dodds came close to levelling matters a couple of minutes later when he fired wide from the edge of the box after a long throw-in from Beevers landed at his feet. At the other end it took a great saving header from Beevers to deny Bolland a third and when the corner was played in, Peter Till curled over from the edge of the box.

A minute before the hour mark Ryan Amoo and Mark Stallard were introduced for Gary Croft and Steve Torpey; Beevers moving across to left-back with Amoo dropping in on the right. Stallard for Torpey was a straight swap up front alongside Dodds, who moved inside towards the end of the first half.

Seconds after this change an accidental collision between the Grimsby pair of Fenton and Hunt saw them both require treatment and as play restarted N'Guessan and Forrester swapped flanks. Hunt's injury got the better of him five minutes later and he was replaced by Jamie Clarke.

City came close again in the 65th minute when substitutes Amoo and Stallard combined - the former swinging in a peach of a centre which was met by the latter at the back post but Barnes somehow got a glove to it and the follow-up from Stallard from a tight angle went behind.

Mulligan then blocked a shot from Forrester before the City striker wasted a glorious chance after a long throw from Beevers bounced over everyone before landing at his feet six yards from goal. His left footed effort flew well over though with the goal at his mercy.

At the other end Till blazed over after referee Deadman failed to spot a late challenge on Beevers by Clarke which gave Till the chance to break forward. A blatant push on N'Guessan by Newey also went unnoticed.

Referee Deadman was at the centre of things again 13 minutes from time when he disallowed what looked to be a perfectly good goal by the Imps. The net bulged when Brown powered in an N'Guessan cross but the Cambridgeshire official ruled that Brown pushed his man before ball hit head.

Gary Jones replaced Isaiah Rankin up front for Grimsby with 10 minutes on the clock whilst a couple of minutes later Lee Frecklington made way for Ollie Ryan for City.

A chipped free-kick forward from Marriott to Beevers saw the City man held down but again the decision went against the men in red and white with referee Deadman making little friends amongst the Imps' supporters.

With City pushing men forward, gaps were appearing at the back and only an excellent double save from Marriott to deny Jones and Boshell kept the score at 2-1 and after N'Guessan was tripped going forward, Newey was booked for throwing the ball away.

Five minutes of added time was then indicated by the Fourth Official and in the first of these referee Deadman and Town boss Buckley exchanged words in front of the visiting dugout.

With 90 seconds of added time remaining Bolland fired a Till pass over the bar; this coming after Jones went down under Beevers' challenge in the box. Marriott then played a Moses throw-in straight out before Fenton was booked for a late challenge on Stallard.

This turned out to be the final incident of the game as, when Barnes claimed the subsequent free-kick with ease, referee Deadman brought a disappointing afternoon's football as far as City were concerned to a close.

Four defeats on the bounce for the Imps now whilst the win was Grimsby's first in the League this season.

FT: IMPS 1 GRIMSBY 2

MATCH FACTS

LINCOLN CITY
1 Alan MARRIOTT
5 Lee BEEVERS
4 Adie MOSES
6 Nat BROWN
3 Gary CROFT
7 Lee FRECKLINGTON
26 Jamie HAND
19 Louis DODDS
17 Dany N'GUESSAN
8 Jamie FORRESTER
10 Steve TORPEY

subs
14 Ryan AMOO (for CROFT 59)
9 Mark STALLARD (for TORPEY 59)
18 Ollie RYAN (for FRECKLINGTON 82)
11 Scott KERR
20 Owain WARLOW

GOAL: FORRESTER (38)

BOOKING: BROWN (17)

GRIMSBY TOWN
1 Phil BARNES
14 David MULLIGAN
6 Nick FENTON
15 Justin WHITTLE
3 Tom NEWEY
4 James HUNT
7 Peter TILL
8 Paul BOLLAND
10 Ciaran TONER
11 Danny BOSHELL
16 Isaiah RANKIN

subs
2 Jamie CLARKE (for HUNT 64)
19 Gary JONES (for RANKIN 80)
18 Peter BORE
20 Andy TAYLOR
13 Gary MONTGOMERY

GOALS: WHITTLE (19), TONER (52 pen)

BOOKINGS: NEWEY (87), FENTON (90+4)

MATCH OFFICIALS

REFEREE: Darren Deadman (Cambridgeshire)
ASSISTANTS: Michael Naylor & Garry Wallace
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Paul Thompson

ATTENDANCE: 4,428 (1,124 visiting supporters)