Northampton continued their revival under new boss Ian Sampson with a narrow victory at Sixfields.
It was Lincoln who came closest to breaking the deadlock in a mediocre first-half as midfielder Stefan Oakes sent a 30-yard free-kick just too high.
Steve Guinan struck the winner midway through the second-half after Luke Guttridge's free-kick had caused havoc in the Lincoln defence.
Northampton have now recorded two wins and a draw since Sampson was appointed.
Cobblers boss Ian Sampson told BBC Radio Northampton:
"We stuck to our task at the end of the game and we defended well.
"I was pleased with the clean sheet, which we've struggled to get recently. We didn't get impatient. We kept to our passing game, and we weren't going to launch it to their centre backs."
Live text and stats
Saturday, 17 October 2009
League Two
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Northampton
1-0
Lincoln City
FT
(HT 0-0)
Guinan 72
Northampton
01 Dunn
02 Rodgers
03 Johnson
05 Hinton
06 Beckwith
19 Curtis
04 Guttridge
11 Holt
12 Gilligan
09 Guinan (Marshall 83)
17 Mckay (Akinfenwa 55)
Substitutes
26 Brown,
20 McCready,
15 Dyer,
07 Marshall,
10 Akinfenwa,
16 Mulligan,
24 Harris
Lincoln City
01 Burch
03 Brown
04 Kovacs yellow card
06 Hone yellow card (Pearce 76)
22 Watts
07 Oakes (Kerr 63)
08 Butcher
19 Clarke yellow card
21 Torres yellow card
23 Pulis yellow card (Clarke 66)
18 Howe yellow card
Substitutes
20 Musselwhite,
13 Pearce,
16 Heath,
11 Kerr,
25 Hughton,
14 John-Lewis,
15 Clarke
Ref: CookAtt: 4,341
NORTHAMPTON
LINCOLN CITY
Possession
Northampton56%
Lincoln City44%
Attempts on target
Northampton6
Lincoln City3
Attempts off target
Northampton2
Lincoln City3
Corners
Northampton4
Lincoln City2
Fouls
Northampton16
Lincoln City20
Final Result
Full Time
90:00+5:06 The referee blows his whistle to end the game.
90:00+0:19 Adam Watts takes a shot. Save made by Chris Dunn.
89:44 Unfair challenge on Shane Clarke by Dean Beckwith results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Richard Butcher.
88:02 Foul by Ian Pearce on Luke Guttridge, free kick awarded. Craig Hinton takes the free kick.
85:55 Ryan Gilligan crosses the ball from the free kick right-footed from left wing, save made by Robert Burch.
85:55 Booking Rene Howe booked.
85:34 Foul by Rene Howe on Paul Rodgers, free kick awarded.
85:00 Foul by Rene Howe on Andrew Holt, free kick awarded. Ryan Gilligan restarts play with the free kick.
84:22 Centre by Sergio Torres, Craig Hinton makes a clearance.
Correction - 82:46 Free kick awarded for a foul by Janos Kovacs on Ben Marshall. Ryan Gilligan crosses the ball in from the free kick, Rene Howe manages to make a clearance.
82:46 Janos Kovacs gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Ben Marshall. The free kick is delivered right-footed by Ryan Gilligan from left wing,
82:15 Substitution Steve Guinan goes off and Ben Marshall comes on.
81:18 Jamie Clarke challenges Craig Hinton unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
80:15 Unfair challenge on Ian Pearce by Andrew Holt results in a free kick. Robert Burch restarts play with the free kick.
79:32 Free kick awarded for a foul by Sergio Torres on Paul Rodgers. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
Correction - 78:41 Centre by Andrew Holt, save by Robert Burch.
78:41 The ball is delivered by Andrew Holt, save made by Robert Burch.
77:44 Janos Kovacs fouled by Adebayo Akinfenwa, the ref awards a free kick. Robert Burch restarts play with the free kick.
77:18 Booking Janos Kovacs is given a yellow card.
76:45 Floated corner taken from the right by-line by Sergio Torres, Andrew Holt fouled by Janos Kovacs, the ref awards a free kick. Chris Dunn restarts play with the free kick.
76:00 Substitution Ian Pearce replaces Daniel Hone.
75:12 Booking Daniel Hone is given a yellow card.
74:55 Daniel Hone challenges Andrew Holt unfairly and gives away a free kick. Dean Beckwith restarts play with the free kick.
73:30 The ball is delivered by Ryan Gilligan.
72:31 Rene Howe gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Dean Beckwith. Direct free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
71:27 GOAL - Steve Guinan:Northampton 1 - 0 Lincoln City A goal is scored by Steve Guinan from close range low into the middle of the goal. Northampton 1-0 Lincoln City.
Correction - 70:29 Steve Guinan fouled by Janos Kovacs, the ref awards a free kick. Luke Guttridge restarts play with the free kick,
70:29 Steve Guinan fouled by Janos Kovacs, the ref awards a free kick. Luke Guttridge restarts play with the free kick.
69:51 Richard Butcher takes a shot. Save made by Chris Dunn.
69:29 The ball is delivered by Dean Beckwith, save made by Robert Burch.
68:32 The ball is swung over by Luke Guttridge, Janos Kovacs makes a clearance.
67:25 Headed effort from inside the area by Adebayo Akinfenwa misses to the left of the target.
65:15 Substitution Anthony Pulis goes off and Jamie Clarke comes on.
64:13 Ryan Gilligan takes a shot. Blocked by Shane Clarke.
62:58 Anthony Pulis challenges Andrew Holt unfairly and gives away a free kick. Dean Beckwith restarts play with the free kick.
62:15 Substitution Scott Kerr comes on in place of Stefan Oakes.
61:54 Anthony Pulis delivers the ball, clearance by John Curtis.
61:22 Stefan Oakes takes the inswinging corner, clearance by Luke Guttridge.
60:51 Adebayo Akinfenwa concedes a free kick for a foul on Stefan Oakes. Stefan Oakes takes the free kick.
59:47 Luke Guttridge takes the outswinging corner, Adebayo Akinfenwa concedes a free kick for a foul on Janos Kovacs. Robert Burch takes the direct free kick.
58:07 Luke Guttridge takes a shot. Save by Robert Burch.
56:06 John Curtis has shot on goal from just outside the box which goes wide of the right-hand upright.
55:38 Ryan Gilligan takes a shot. Blocked by Shane Clarke.
55:01 Booking Shane Clarke is given a yellow card.
54:52 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on John Curtis by Shane Clarke. Dean Beckwith restarts play with the free kick.
54:01 Substitution Billy Mckay goes off and Adebayo Akinfenwa comes on.
54:01 Richard Butcher is caught offside. Direct free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
53:30 The offside flag is raised against Rene Howe. Chris Dunn restarts play with the free kick.
50:51 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Andrew Holt by Anthony Pulis. Ryan Gilligan takes the free kick.
50:01 Unfair challenge on Janos Kovacs by Steve Guinan results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Robert Burch.
49:27 Corner from the right by-line taken by Luke Guttridge, clearance made by Adam Watts.
48:50 The referee penalises Richard Butcher for handball. Craig Hinton restarts play with the free kick.
48:24 Richard Butcher is ruled offside. Chris Dunn takes the free kick.
46:51 Foul by Craig Hinton on Rene Howe, free kick awarded. The ball is delivered by Stefan Oakes, Headed effort from deep inside the area by Janos Kovacs misses to the right of the target.
46:10 Luke Guttridge crosses the ball, clearance made by Aaron Brown.
45:01 The match restarts for the second half.
Half Time
45:00+2:30 The half-time whistle blows.
45:00+0:26 Booking Caution for Sergio Torres.
43:52 Richard Butcher gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Ryan Gilligan. Ryan Gilligan takes the free kick.
42:14 Foul by Janos Kovacs on Andrew Holt, free kick awarded. Chris Dunn restarts play with the free kick.
41:20 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Sergio Torres by Ryan Gilligan. Stefan Oakes takes the free kick.
41:09 The ball is swung over by Andrew Holt, Aaron Brown makes a clearance.
40:02 Sergio Torres takes a shot. Save by Chris Dunn.
38:57 Anthony Pulis fouled by Ryan Gilligan, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Robert Burch.
37:00 The assistant referee flags for offside against Billy Mckay. Direct free kick taken by Robert Burch.
35:20 Free kick awarded for a foul by Steve Guinan on Aaron Brown. Free kick taken by Stefan Oakes.
34:11 Free kick crossed right-footed by Chris Dunn, Dean Beckwith gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Adam Watts. Free kick taken by Robert Burch.
34:11 Booking Anthony Pulis goes into the referee's book for dissent.
33:46 Anthony Pulis is penalised for a handball.
32:58 Dean Beckwith concedes a free kick for a foul on Rene Howe. Stefan Oakes restarts play with the free kick.
31:58 Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Luke Guttridge, Unfair challenge on Shane Clarke by Dean Beckwith results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Robert Burch.
30:07 The ball is swung over by Luke Guttridge, Janos Kovacs gets a block in.
30:00 The ball is swung over by Luke Guttridge, clearance by Janos Kovacs.
27:26 Free kick awarded for a foul by Steve Guinan on Adam Watts. Robert Burch restarts play with the free kick.
26:50 Anthony Pulis concedes a free kick for a foul on Paul Rodgers. Direct free kick taken by Dean Beckwith.
25:28 Effort on goal by Stefan Oakes from long range goes over the crossbar.
25:02 John Johnson concedes a free kick for a foul on Anthony Pulis. Stefan Oakes takes the free kick.
17:57 The ball is swung over by John Johnson, clearance made by Stefan Oakes.
15:53 Ryan Gilligan crosses the ball.
15:13 The ball is swung over by Sergio Torres, Chris Dunn makes a save.
14:27 Steve Guinan fouled by Janos Kovacs, the ref awards a free kick. Craig Hinton restarts play with the free kick.
11:40 The ball is swung over by Andrew Holt.
11:09 Luke Guttridge takes a inswinging corner to the near post, Shane Clarke manages to make a clearance.
10:58 Steve Guinan crosses the ball, Adam Watts manages to make a clearance.
9:37 Free kick awarded for a foul by Aaron Brown on Luke Guttridge. Chris Dunn restarts play with the free kick.
7:36 John Curtis fouled by Daniel Hone, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
6:00 Anthony Pulis fouled by Ryan Gilligan, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Stefan Oakes.
4:44 Richard Butcher concedes a free kick for a foul on Andrew Holt. Ryan Gilligan restarts play with the free kick.
4:26 Centre by Luke Guttridge, clearance by Janos Kovacs.
3:19 Rene Howe takes a shot. Blocked by Craig Hinton.
2:38 Paul Rodgers delivers the ball.
2:08 Ryan Gilligan takes a shot. Shane Clarke gets a block in.
1:35 The ball is swung over by Luke Guttridge, Steve Guinan takes a shot. Janos Kovacs gets a block in.
1:23 A cross is delivered by Andrew Holt, Janos Kovacs makes a clearance.
0:00 The match begins.
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