A cool finish from French forward Dany N'Guessan and Jamie Forrester's angled drive condemned Macclesfield to a cruel defeat, with substitute Gareth Evans' injury time header too little too late.

In a repeat performance of too many this season, the Silkmen dominated play without pressing home their advantage and squandered a hatful of chances to claim a vital victory.

The Imps, buoyed by two recent away wins, registered the first shot of the night when Forrester forced Jonathan Brain into a smart low save.

From then on though Macc had much more of the ball, however most of the play was bogged down in midfield areas.Mark Stallard was fortunate to escape a booking for chopping down Levi Reid on halfway, and the Macc midfielder then saw a 20 yard effort deflected behind.

On 19 minutes Danny Thomas evaded his man on the left and after Michael Symes let his cross run, Levi was again off target at the back post, although Lincoln full back Lee Beevers almost turned the ball in with a wild clearance which flew out for a corner.

Five minutes later it was Symes' turn to miss the target - blazing over from ten yards after controlling a pinpoint far post cross by Izak Reid, who had an impressive first half.

Lincoln showed hints of an attacking threat with Forrester's effort which flew high and wide after a clever corner routine.The visitors missed a better opportunity soon afterwards when a cross from the right found Ben Wright unmarked in the centre, but Brain was equal to his downward header to palm clear.

In the 31st minute Francis Green replaced the injured Martin Gritton who hobbled off after a clash on the halfway line, giving Macc something different in the final third.

Green should have broken the deadlock against his former side when Symes flicked the ball into his path but after delaying his effort he could only shoot against the legs of Alan Marriott.From the rebound he failed to get a shot away and then Reid found Symes in the box who again fired over.

Seconds before half time Levi Reid unbelievably failed to hit the net when Green played the ball right across the six yard box and the midfielder's close range effort was headed off the line by Lee Ridley.A finish anywhere else would have been a goal and Reid should never have given the defender any chance to clear with the majority of the goal at his mercy.

After the break Green let fly from the edge of the box after a driving run in from the left but his powerful shot was deflected behind.

Louis Dodds almost capitalised on an uncharacteristic lazy header back to the keeper from Ryan Cresswell and Brain had to rush from his goal to clear with his feet in the nick of time.Izak Reid recovered to win back the ball and the home side were able to eventually clear.

Dodds then shot too close to Brain after winning the ball from Hessey and shifting the ball onto his left foot and was in the action again just after the hour mark when his 25 yard free kick whistled just over the bar.

Symes missed a guilt-edged chance on 65 minutes when a Thomas cross picked him out perfectly in the centre and his header was tipped over the bar by the fingertips of the Imps keeper when a finish either side of him would have surely found the net.

More out of sorts Macc finishing saw another spell of pressure wasted as a corner found Hessey in the middle but his header was so poor it went back to the kick taker.The ball was put back in and fell to Green who badly miss-hit from just inside the box.

The Silkmen paid the price for their profligacy with nine minutes left on the clock as Imps sub N'Guessan gave them a lesson in how to finish.Symes dallied on the ball with a simple option of a pass out wide and Stallard was allowed to slide the ball though to the Frenchman who broke the offside trap and calmly slotted past Brain.

Things got even worse as Macc pressed for an equaliser and again they played a part in their own downfall.A pass across the midfield was intercepted by Forrester and after powering past Neil Ashton's challenge he was able to drill out of Brain's reach and into the far corner from 15 yards.

Evans pulled a goal back midway through the four minutes of injury time when he glanced a header into the far corner from Hessey's left wing cross, but it was to be little consolation.

Yet again missed chances and defensive errors defeated the Silkmen and although again they can rightly say they were the better side overall, it means little as the league table begins to look rather grim.

Eight home games without a win leaves Macc staring down the barrel of a third successive relegation dogfight, and if an upturn of results, if not necessarily performances, doesn't arrive soon then third time unlucky could be a disastrous possibility.

Andy Brinkhurst