Luke Rodgers slammed in a hat-trick as Notts County cruised to victory at Lincoln with the Imps' new manager Chris Sutton watching in the stands.
Sutton, who begins work at Sincil Bank on Wednesday, looked on as Rodgers ran through a static defence to score with only 14 seconds on the clock.
Rodgers made it 2-0 with a similar finish under Rob Burch, before Shane Clarke struck a post for the hosts.
Rodgers sealed his treble late on after being left unmarked six yards out.
Lincoln City caretaker manager Simon Clark told BBC Radio Lincolnshire:
"We spoke before the game about the start being massively important but instead of going with their movement we've tried to stand and hold the line, and in a difficult game at a difficult time for the club it makes it hard to come back into the game.
"We had good possession but we're lacking quality. We had a go in the second half but it's not enough to have good possession in the middle third but then lose that quality in the final third."
Notts County manager Ian McParland told BBC Radio Nottingham:
"I am happy with that because we dug deep and we battled and scraped.
"We passed it well in little bits but it's not always going to be fluent fantastic football, especially away from home. We've played better away from home and lost games.
"We played better football at Barnet. We played better football at Morecambe, especially in the second half."
90:00+4:54 The referee signals the end of the game.
90:00+4:22 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Chris Fagan by Daniel Jones. Direct free kick taken by Robert Burch.
Correction - 90:00+3:28 Richard Ravenhill has an effort at goal from just outside the area which goes wide of the left-hand post.
90:00+3:28 Shot from just outside the area by Neal Bishop misses to the left of the target.
90:00+1:29 Substitution Karl Hawley is brought on as a substitute for Luke Rodgers.
89:33 GOAL - Luke Rodgers:Lincoln City 0 - 3 Notts County Luke Rodgers grabs a goal from close range to the bottom right corner of the goal. Lincoln City 0-3 Notts County.
88:30 Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Johnnie Jackson from the right by-line.
87:33 Craig Westcarr takes a inswinging corner from the left by-line to the near post, save made by Robert Burch.
85:12 Corner taken by Craig Westcarr played to the near post, clearance by Robert Burch.
84:42 Daniel Hone concedes a free kick for a foul on Luke Rodgers. Craig Westcarr takes the direct free kick.
84:17 Cian Hughton has an effort at goal from just inside the box that misses to the left of the target.
83:56 Shane Clarke has an effort at goal from outside the area which goes wide left of the target.
81:16 Substitution Ben Davies goes off and Neal Bishop comes on.
80:49 Substitution Chris Fagan on for Lenell John-Lewis.
80:19 Unfair challenge on Daniel Hone by Luke Rodgers results in a free kick. Daniel Hone restarts play with the free kick.
75:08 Substitution Stefan Oakes is brought on as a substitute for Scott Kerr.
74:49 Aaron Brown produces a left-footed shot from deep inside the penalty box which goes wide of the left-hand upright.
73:01 Shot from just outside the area by Shane Clarke misses to the right of the target.
72:13 Lee Hughes produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the box and misses to the right of the goal.
71:47 Booking Daniel Jones receives a yellow card.
70:58 Johnnie Jackson challenges Rene Howe unfairly and gives away a free kick. Scott Kerr takes the free kick.
70:34 Luke Rodgers is caught offside. Free kick taken by Moses Swaibu.
69:05 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Johnnie Jackson by Scott Kerr. John Thompson takes the free kick.
67:03 Lee Hughes produces a right-footed shot from deep inside the penalty box which goes wide of the right-hand upright.
66:43 The offside flag is raised against Lenell John-Lewis. Free kick taken by Kasper Schmeichel.
66:06 Luke Rodgers is caught offside. Indirect free kick taken by Robert Burch.
65:12 Substitution Craig Westcarr is brought on as a substitute for Matt Ritchie.
64:37 Lee Hughes takes a shot. Robert Burch makes a comfortable save.
64:09 Shane Clarke concedes a free kick for a foul on Luke Rodgers. Free kick taken by Brendan Moloney.
62:21 Foul by Rene Howe on Mike Edwards, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Mike Edwards.
60:01 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Ben Davies by Aaron Brown. Ben Davies crosses the ball in from the free kick.
59:26 Foul by Luke Rodgers on Daniel Hone, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Robert Burch.
57:55 Headed effort on goal by Shane Clarke from inside the penalty box misses to the right of the goal.
56:13 The referee blows for offside against Lenell John-Lewis. Kasper Schmeichel takes the free kick.
53:35 Effort from the edge of the box by Rene Howe goes wide of the left-hand upright.
52:46 Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Scott Kerr, save by Kasper Schmeichel.
51:02 Lenell John-Lewis challenges John Thompson unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Kasper Schmeichel.
49:26 Rene Howe gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Kasper Schmeichel. Kasper Schmeichel restarts play with the free kick.
47:08 Ben Davies restarts play with the free kick.
47:08 Booking Booking for Rene Howe.
46:48 Foul by Rene Howe on Brendan Moloney, free kick awarded.
46:20 The ball is swung over by Cian Hughton, Kasper Schmeichel makes a fantastic save.
45:01 The second half begins.
45:00+1:35 Corner taken right-footed by Scott Kerr from the left by-line, save made by Kasper Schmeichel.
45:00+0:19 Foul by Mike Edwards on Rene Howe, free kick awarded. Aaron Brown takes the free kick.
44:41 Booking Moses Swaibu shown a yellow card.
43:27 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Daniel Jones by Rene Howe. Direct free kick taken by Daniel Jones.
42:38 Scott Kerr has an effort direct from the free kick, Kasper Schmeichel makes a comfortable save.
42:38 Booking John Thompson goes into the referee's book for unsporting behaviour.
Half Time
42:23 The ref blows to end the first period.
42:07 Unfair challenge on Daniel Hone by John Thompson results in a free kick.
38:05 Substitution Andrew Hutchinson joins the action as a substitute, replacing Jamie Clarke.
36:28 Brendan Moloney gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Sergio Torres. Direct free kick taken by Aaron Brown.
35:41 Free kick taken by Robert Burch.
35:41 Booking The referee shows Matt Ritchie a yellow card.
35:29 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Sergio Torres by Matt Ritchie.
33:42 Robert Burch restarts play with the free kick.
33:42 Booking Lee Hughes is cautioned by the ref for unsporting behaviour.
33:34 Free kick awarded for a foul by Lee Hughes on Daniel Hone.
33:06 Luke Rodgers takes a shot. Robert Burch makes a comfortable save.
30:30 Foul by Rene Howe on Mike Edwards, free kick awarded. Kasper Schmeichel restarts play with the free kick.
27:34 Corner taken by Daniel Jones.
26:53 Shot by Sergio Torres from deep inside the penalty area misses to the right of the goal.
24:52 GOAL - Luke Rodgers:Lincoln City 0 - 2 Notts County A goal is scored by Luke Rodgers from inside the penalty area to the bottom right corner of the goal. Lincoln City 0-2 Notts County.
22:26 Shot from long distance by Lee Hughes goes wide of the left-hand post.
20:44 Rene Howe is ruled offside. Free kick taken by Kasper Schmeichel.
19:07 Corner from right by-line crossed in by Matt Ritchie.
18:23 Daniel Hone gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Lee Hughes. Matt Ritchie takes the direct free kick.
17:21 Lee Hughes concedes a free kick for a foul on Daniel Hone. Robert Burch restarts play with the free kick.
14:01 Matt Ritchie has shot on goal from just outside the area which goes wide of the right-hand upright.
13:11 Free kick awarded for a foul by Richard Ravenhill on Sergio Torres. Free kick taken by Robert Burch.
11:32 Richard Ravenhill gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Shane Clarke. Free kick taken by Moses Swaibu.
8:33 Luke Rodgers is caught offside. Robert Burch takes the free kick.
7:53 Jamie Clarke challenges Daniel Jones unfairly and gives away a free kick. Ben Davies takes the free kick.
5:24 Unfair challenge on Lee Hughes by Moses Swaibu results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Ben Davies.
3:05 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Moses Swaibu by Lee Hughes. Direct free kick taken by Robert Burch.
Correction - 0:14 Ben Davies provided the assist for the goal.
0:14 The assist for the goal came from Ben Davies.
0:14 GOAL - Luke Rodgers:Lincoln City 0 - 1 Notts County Luke Rodgers grabs a goal from the edge of the area to the bottom left corner of the goal. Lincoln City 0-1 Notts County.
0:00 The game kicks-off.
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