A Marc Williams strike six minutes after half-time was enough to sink City at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday afternoon as Wrexham lifted themselves off the foot of the League 2 table with a slender victory over the Imps.

Williams' decisive strike, which saw him curl the ball home from just inside the box, came after Alan Marriott had saved a first half Neil Roberts penalty, harshly awarded after Brown was deemed to have tripped Williams.

Either side of the goal Mark Stallard and Paul Green had efforts blocked on the line whilst City were forced to play for the final half hour with 10 men after Gary Croft was dismissed for two bookable offences.

Match report by John Vickers at the Racecourse Ground:

Manager John Schofield made a change to his formation for this Coca-Cola League 2 game against Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground with Paul Green, Scott Kerr and Mark Stallard all returning to the starting XI. Green came in on the right of a back five whilst Kerr and Stallard replaced Lee Frecklington and Steve Torpey who both dropped to the bench as did Dany N'Guessan. With Louis Dodds in a free role there was scope to switch between a 5-3-2 and a 5-2-3 formation.

It was a pleasant late September afternoon as referee Roger East got proceedings underway and it was an evenly-matched opening as both sides took their time to settle into things.

A looping centre from Jamie Hand in the fifth minute forced home 'keeper Anthony Williams to tip the ball over but the resultant corner was brought to an abrupt halt after Nat Brown was pulled up for a push. An offside flag then denied Jamie Forrester a run on goal after Mark Stallard had flicked on a Lee Beevers clearance.

Wrexham responded by forcing their first corner with Alan Marriott holding a Steve Evans header after the ball was played in. A good saving header from Brown shortly afterwards then saw him block a Neil Taylor cross before Beevers was penalised for a trip on Mark Jones, giving the hosts a chance from a free-kick in a dangerous position. Matt Crowell fired straight at Stallard in the City wall though.

At the other end a tug on Stallard's shirt by Danny Williams gave the Imps a chance from a similar position with the neatly-worked set-piece routine ending with Gary Croft seeing his low drive clip a Wrexham boot before going behind.

Referee East took centre stage in the 18th minute when Marc Williams went down somewhat dramatically in the area as he and Nat Brown tussled for possession. Looking on from the stands it appeared that no contact was made but the Wiltshire-based official decided otherwise and pointed to the spot. Justice was done though as Alan Marriott brilliantly tipped Neil Roberts' penalty behind for a corner.

This missed opportunity didn't seem to affect the hosts however as they enjoyed the better of things possession-wise over the next 10 minutes or so. City's frustrations at not being able to get their foot on the ball saw Dodds see yellow for a challenge from behind on Jones.

Shortly after this 30th minute caution Marriott was well positioned to hold a Marc Williams header after he ghosted in to connect with a Jones centre. Dodds and Green then both required treatment; the former after he took a knock to his foot and the latter after he caught a stray Wrexham arm as he challenged for the ball.

Of the two, Dodds ' injury was clearly the worse and shortly afterwards, with the game in its 38th minute, he limped off. Lee Frecklington was his replacement. A minute later Stallard saw yellow for a lunge on Jones and when the resultant free-kick was pumped into the box, Marc Williams blazed well over.

Frecklington's first touch saw him concede a free-kick which led to Wrexham's fourth corner of the game whilst a tackle from behind on Stallard by Crowell gave the Imps a chance from a set-piece but Kerr's delivery was intercepted.

In the first of two added minutes Hand released Stallard who advanced into the box before forcing a corner but Frecklington's ball in from the quadrant was worse and any hope of a goal before the break went begging.

HT: WREXHAM 0 IMPS 0

Bright sunshine greeted the two teams as they made their way out for the second half and it was the hosts who were first to press, winning a free-kick on their right. Beevers rose high to clear the danger when the ball was played in and when his header found Forrester he in turn released Stallard.

The big number nine brought the ball forward and cut inside two men but although his final effort beat goalkeeper Williams, back on the line to block the ball was Mark Jones.

City were made to pay for this missed opportunity as, six minutes after the restart, the hosts took the lead when striker Marc Williams picked up possession on the edge of the box, twisted to create space and curled home an excellent effort which flew past Marriott and into the left-hand corner of the net.

Gary Croft became the third City man to find his name in the referee East's notebook in the 57th minute when he blocked Mike Carvill and five minutes later his afternoon came to an abrupt end after he clumsily clattered into Carvill for a second time. Mr East trotted across to the experienced full-back and, after a second yellow was brandished in Croft's direction, out came the dreaded red.

Croft's dismissal saw Beevers move across to left-back and he put in a brilliant block to deny Williams a second after Roberts had dummied a Jones ball into the danger area.

Things were certainly hotting up now with a strong, but fair, challenge from Hand on Neil Taylor ending with the former Chester man being surrounded by red shirted opponents who felt that he had gone over the top as he played the ball out for a throw-in.

In the 71st minute Jamie Forrester was replaced by Ollie Ryan and shortly after this switch an untimely bobble denied Frecklington, although his eventual effort did go for a corner but when his subsequent delivery to the near post was intercepted, Wrexham broke at pace with the final touch seeing Williams blaze well over the bar.

City responded by winning another corner - their seventh of the game - and when Kerr's delivery was spooned into the air at the near post, goalkeeper Williams flapped before the ball was hacked clear. The Imps' next attack ended when Frecklington was tripped a foot outside the box. Hand took responsibility from the free-kick but drilled the ball straight into the wall.

Manager John Schofield then went for bust with 10 minutes on the clock with Dany N'Guessan coming on for Adie Moses - City now operating a 3-3-3 line-up - whilst Wrexham responded in the 82nd minute with Matt Done replacing Neil Taylor.

City were certainly pushing forward now and good work from Kerr saw him win a corner and when he played the flag-kick in deep Brown's header down was met by Green who somehow saw his header blocked on the line as the hosts threw bodies in the way.

It was all Lincoln now as the Fourth Official indicated that a minimum of four minutes were to be added but that final killer touch was continuing to evade them. A great run from N'Guessan saw his final effort blocked by a home defender whilst the big Frenchman won two free-kicks in quick succession as he looked to unlock the Dragons' defence. The second seeing loanee Robbie Garratt pick up a caution for dissent.

With City pouring men forward, gaps were going to appear in defence and one such instance saw substitute Josh Johnson bring the ball forward before seeing his effort deflect behind. Once the corner was taken, referee East brought yet another frustrating afternoon for City to a close.

FT: WREXHAM 1 IMPS 0

MATCH FACTS

LINCOLN CITY
1 Alan MARRIOTT
2 Paul GREEN
5 Lee BEEVERS
4 Adie MOSES
6 Nat BROWN
3 Gary CROFT
11 Scott KERR
26 Jamie HAND
19 Louis DODDS
8 Jamie FORRESTER
9 Mark STALLARD

subs
7 Lee FRECKLINGTON (for DODDS 38)
18 Ollie RYAN (for FORRESTER 71)
17 Dany N'GUESSAN (for MOSES 80)
10 Steve TORPEY
15 Ben WRIGHT

BOOKINGS: DODDS (30), STALLARD (39), CROFT (57)

SENDING OFF: CROFT (62)

WREXHAM
1 Anthony WILLIAMS
25 Neil TAYLOR
8 Danny WILLIAMS
5 Steve EVANS
6 Richard HOPE
23 Mike CARVILL
12 Matt CROWELL
26 Robbie GARRETT
7 Mark JONES
21 Marc WILLIAMS
9 Neil ROBERTS

subs
20 Matt DONE (for TAYLOR 82)
17 Josh JOHNSON (for ROBERTS 88)
2 Simon SPENDER
4 Shaun PEJIC
13 Michael JONES

GOAL: M WILLIAMS (51)

MATCH OFFICIALS

REFEREE: Roger East (Wiltshire)
ASSISTANTS: Glyn Mellor & Andrew Scregg
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Andrew Hutchinson

ATTENDANCE: 3,614 (179 City supporters)