The U18s' first Football League Youth Alliance game of 2010 saw them lose 4-2 at Notts County.
Greg Enstone and Nathan Adams scored for the Imps, but County's fire power proved the difference as they bagged four goals in an end-to-end encounter.
Despite the loss, Grant Brown said he was satisfied with his team's return to action after almost two months without a game.
"I'm disappointed with the result, but happy with the performance considering we hadn't played in a while and there were players coming back from injury," he said.
"We played good football at times, but we were sloppy in the final third. Our final ball let us down and we have to defend set-pieces better."
The game started at a frantic pace with both teams scrapping for an early breakthrough. It came after just nine minutes from the head of Enstone, making his first appearance after 14 months out injured, to put the Imps one up.
Lincoln could have extended their lead, but Jake Gibson's effort was cleared off the line. The Magpies then hit back to level on the half hour mark when the Imps' backline was caught square.
Seven minutes later, County went in front when a ball into the box caused problems in the Lincoln defence and was smashed in from 10 yards.
The Imps equalised two minutes into the second half from Adams' strike into the corner. But the home side regained the lead on the hour after a scramble in the six-yard area.
County got the killer fourth goal from a corner in the 68th-minute. Lincoln though kept battling and were unlucky not to score again with the Notts keeper in fine form to deny the Imps on a few occasions.
Brown though took heart from the spirit his young team showed and felt they were unlucky to lose what he thought was an 'even' game.
"Its not always about the result, there were a lot of good performances out there. Nathan (Adams), Kern (Miller) and especially Greg (Enstone) did well on his first game back in over a year since his knee problems and scoring."
There were a few bumps and bruises afterwards, but Lincoln should be at full strength for the game against Chesterfield this weekend.
"There is lots we can improve on," said Brown. "Chesterfield are a good side, they beat us 3-1 at their place earlier in the season so we'll be hoping for an improvement and a better result next weekend."
Lincoln City U18s (4-4-2): Kerry Nicholas, Kieran Heap, Jack Thomas, Sam Downey, Kern Miller, Greg Enstone, Sam Turner (Rob Brewer 62), Josh Barnes, Nathan Adams, James Wilson, Jake Gibson. Subs: Nick Draper, Arran Brookbanks, Jack Davies, Frazier Cobb.
by Aron Hegarty
