The game kicked off in bright February sunshine, and it was the visitors who had the better of the early exchanges despite some suspect decisions from the referee.
Rochdale had a chance early on when Dave Perkins set up Adam Rundle but the winger completely missed his kick in front of goal, bringing jeers from the home fand.
Lincoln's Louis Dodds was unlucky in the ninth minute when his free-kick beat Sam Russell but hit the outside of the post. The atmosphere inside the ground was certainly vibrant and in direct contrast to the nervous silence experienced in recent weeks.
Rochdale continued to create chances with Gary Jones getting clear only to send his shot straight at Alan Marriott. The Imps keeper looked confident handling the ball and has hopefully put his recent indifferent form behind him.
A mistake by Nat Brown let in Rochdale in the 23rd minute but Rene Howe saw his effort blocked by Marriott at point-blank range. Howe then burst into the box but his shot was kept out by the excellent City keeper.
The next twenty minutes brought several confusing decisions by referee Andy Woolmer. On three occasions a Rochdale player went down whilst City had the ball, and on three occasions the referee allowed play to continue. Once City seemed certain to break he blew his whistle and brought play back. The ref was certainly having an off day as the resulting drop balls were whacked well away from where City had possesion. Nathan Stanton in particular angered home fans with attitude, and having done the same thing as a Scunthorpe player he was never going to win any popularity awards.
Lincoln deservedly went in front in first-half stoppage time when Lee Frecklington blasted a free-kick through the Rochdale wall. Russell failed to hold the ball and, as the Dale defenders hesitated, Jamie Forrester followed up to tap the ball into the net for his ninth goal of the season. The Stacey West stand erupted as Forrester wheeled away to celebrate.
Howe broke away early in the second half when he beat three defenders but again Marriott kept out his shot with yet another fine save.
Rochdale finally got on level terms in the 56th minute when Perkins sent a long ball over the Lincoln defence and Howe ran on to score. The finger of blame seemed to once again point at the centre half pairing of Danny Hone or Lee Beevers, but to blame either centre half for the breakaway goal would be harsh.
In a surreal moment a short while later referee Woolmer stopped the game to ask if the two stadium clocks could be reset to zero. One showed a time a minute later than the other one, and Woolmer thought it could 'confuse' the players. No doubt it didn't confuse them as much as his interpretation of the games laws, but nonetheless the clocks were reset as he wished.
There may well have been a red card on 78 minutes when substitute Higginbotham appeared to lash out at a City player. Initially Lee Beevers was fouled and he appeared to be trodden on. Both him and Higginbotham had a minor struggle before all hell broke loose with players from both sides jumping in. During the ensuing melee Higginbotham appeared to throw a punch at Scott Kerr, but referee Woolmer apprently didn't view striking an opponent as a dismissable offence.
Lincoln got the vital winner in the 81st minute after Rochdale failed to clear a long throw into the box. The ball fell kindly for Danny Hone and the teenager stabbed the ball into the net from six yards for his first goal in senior football. Hone had been superb thopughout the game and took away the man of the match awards for his efforts. His goal prompted a confused and wild celebration, one the young defender clearly hadn't though he'd need to plan for a while.
Th last ten minutes were played out without event as Lincoln cleverly killed the game. The only highlight was a minute after the goal where the niggly Nathan Stanton finally got the yellow card his antics had warranted for pulling down Louis Dodds. Dodds himself recieved a caution for going in late on John Doolan and this will rule himself out of the home game with Macclesfiel;d next Saturday.
The result leaves the Imps nine points away from the relegation zone, and fourteen points off a play off spot. Although talk of play offs seems fanciful, three wins from three is the sort of form they'll need to continue showing if they are to avoid a tense few weeks in April and May.