Well, what a game! Four goals, a sending off, a penalty, the opposing manager sent to the stands. It all happened at Sincil Bank as Lincoln celebrated a well-earned 3-1 win against Chester City.

And it all happened in the second half. The first half was literally non-existent, apart from three bookings, with Scott Kerr's - his fifth of the season - set to rule him out of the Boxing Day game against Boston United.

Chester opened the scoring on 48 minutes and it was inevitable that former Imps striker Marcus Richardson was the man who found the net. Richardson latched on to Ben Davies' pass and rifled a low strike under the body of Alan Marriott into the far corner.

City were reduced to 10 men in controversial circumstances on 58 minutes, but it happened so quickly that it virtually went unnoticed. There was an incident at the back post as a corner came in, and referee Grant Hegley waved Dean Keates away down the tunnel. What was strange was that Keates' dismissal brought no reaction from the Imps' dug out and very little reaction from the home fans and it transpired after the match that he was dimissed for foul and abusive language towards the official.

The Imps turned the game around in unbelievable fashion with two goals in the space of two minutes.

On 68 minutes, Scott Kerr swung in a free kick, Nat Brown flicked the ball on and Richard Logan smashed it home past a helpless substitute goalkeeper Ryan Brookfield, on in the 48th minute after Chris McKenzie broke a thumb. Logan raced over to the fans in the Co-op Stand to celebrate his first Lincoln goal.

From the restart, Lincoln charged forward like a man possessed - since the sending off, the home side seemed rattled. Paul Mayo launched himself into a surging run down the left which took him into the Chester box. His run was brought to a crashing halt when he was brought down by Tom Curtis. Referee Hegley - at the centre of the match - pointed to the spot. Mayo stepped up to hammer the ball into the bottom corner to make it 2-1 to the Imps.

Fuming Chester boss Keith Curle was sent to the stands in the 79th minute for remonstrating with the referee and to compound his misery, Derek Asamoah delivered a sucker punch with a third goal deep into added time to seal the Imps' first home win since September 27th.

Richard Logan volleys the Imps level

report by Jonny Hall at Sincil Bank:

Imps boss Keith Alexander stuck with the same eleven which drew 2-2 against Macclesfield last weekend for this afternoon's clash with Chester City.

City lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with Alan Marriott in goal behind a back four of (from left to right) Paul Mayo, Jamie McCombe, Paul Morgan and Gareth McAuley. Nat Brown, Dean Keates and Scott Kerr made up the midfield three, with Gary Birch, Richard Logan and Derek Asamoah in attack.

First year professionals Ollie Ryan and Lee Frecklington were named as substitutes following their return from loan spells at Ilkeston and Stamford respectively. Defender Colin Cryan returned to the squad after shaking off a calf strain, but there was no place in the sixteen for full back Lee Beevers. Jeff Hughes and Marvin Robinson were also named on the bench.

Ex-Imps Justin Walker and Marcus Richardson were both included in the Chester line-up as they looked to put one over their former side. Striker Richardson left Sincil Bank in February 2005 when he joined Rochdale on loan before joining Yeovil a month later. Walker left Lincoln for Exeter City in August 2002 on a free transfer.

An impeccably-observed minute's silence was held prior to kick-off in memory of the Club's one-time record appearance holder Tony Emery who passed away on Monday at the age of 78. Lincoln players all wore black armbands as a mark of respect.

Lincoln kicked off attacking the Industrial & Marine Power Services stand and had their first attempt at goal after two minutes when Scott Kerr blazed a long-range effort high over the crossbar. The Imps started brightly and won a free-kick on three minutes from which Nat Brown awkwardly headed over the bar from ten yards out.

Former Imps striker Richardson was penalised for handball inside the Imps area and received a ticking off from referee Grant Hegley for what looked like dissent. Play resumed with the Chester drummer still banging away furiously on his drum in the Co-op Community Stand.

On 11 minutes, the Imps had a great chance to go one-nil ahead when Richard Logan broke Chester's offside trap. The ball fell through to Logan - who looked like he thought he was offside - and he laid it back to Gary Birch whose shot was deflected wide by 'keeper McKenzie who came off his line to charge down the striker.

Marcus Richardson was booked for persistent fouling in the 12th minute, to the delight of the home crowd. It was all Lincoln so far and had another effort on goal in the 14th minute when Derek Asamoah's cross found Richard Logan on the edge of the box but his cross-goal shot fizzed inches past the post.

Chester had begun quietly but Ben Davies looked to change that on 18 minutes as his surging run down the left was brought to a halt by Gary Birch's challenge right on the edge of the box. Davies appeared to go down a little too easily, Chester had a free-kick in a dangerous position, and Birch was booked. Low's free-kick was deflected wide for a corner, from which the Imps cleared their lines.

On 25 minutes, Gary Birch's low drive from just inside the 18-yard box caught a deflection and won Lincoln a corner. Scott Kerr's inswinger was met by Jamie McCombe at the back post but his downward header drifted wide. On 37 minutes, the Imps broke down the left-hand side through the speedy Derek Asamoah but his cross was hacked clear by Drummond.

A minute later, Richardson found space in the Lincoln area to send a header goalwards which produced a comfortable save from Imps 'keeper Alan Marriott. The tempo of the game shifted up a gear as the first-half entered its final ten minutes.

A fine move between Lincoln's front three of Gary Birch, Richard Logan and Derek Asamoah saw the latter skip down the left, pull the ball back to Dean Keates who fired in a teasing cross which forced Bolland to hook it out for a throw on the far side as Richard Logan came sliding in behind. It was great defending.

Asamoah's pace was troubling the Chester defence and his low drive on 40 minutes was well saved by McKenzie. The Imps defended a Chester corner a minute later before Scott Kerr's name found its way into the referee's notebook in the 43rd minute as one minute of added time was given.  

HT: IMPS 0 CHESTER 0

Chester got the second half underway with the Imps attacking the Stacey West stand. The Imps came rushing out of the traps and came close to breaking the deadlock after just 60 seconds. Gary Birch's quality pass saw Derek Asamoah latch on to it, advance into the box, but his shot was charged down by 'keeper McKenzie who had dashed off his line.

The goalkeeper appeared to injure his wrist in the clash and was forced to retire from the action. McKenzie was replaced by Ryan Brookfield.

Play restarted and Chester moved into a 1-0 lead with a good goal on 48 minutes and guess who was the scorer - former Imp Marcus Richardson. It had to be. Richardson latched on to Davies' pass, skipped down the right, entered the box and rifled a low strike under the body of Marriott and into the far bottom corner.

Richardson raced away to celebrate with his team mates in front of the Chester fans in the corner of the Co-op Community Stand. To be fair to the former Lincoln man, it was a fine finish.

Imps striker Gary Birch should have done better when Derek Asamoah's pin point pass picked him out inside the 18-yard box, but Birch failed to get a shot in amongst a crowd of bodies.

Lincoln were reduced to ten men in controversial circumstances on 58 minutes, but it happened so quickly that it virtually went unnoticed. It seemed bizarre. There was an incident at the back post as a corner came in, and referee Grant Hegley waved Dean Keates away down the tunnel.

Keates' dismissal brought no reaction from the Imps dug out and very little reaction from the home fans. Hegley's brandishing of the red card seemed so discreet that not even the 3,000-plus people inside the stadium noticed it! It was the second time this season Lincoln have been reduced to ten men against Chester.

When play resumed, Chester's Justin Walker was lucky to stay on the pitch after an horrendous head-high tackle on Scott Kerr in the 63rd minute. Kerr was literally pole-axed, and whether it was an attempt for the ball by Walker was debatable. The former Lincoln man escaped with a yellow card to the disgust of the home crowd. Paul Mayo's free kick crashed against the side netting.

On 64 minutes, Imps boss Keith Alexander made his first change of the match when he replaced Gary Birch with Marvin Robinson in a straight swap up front. Chester also made a substitution: Justin Walker being replaced by El-Kholti. Two minutes after the changes, Derek Asamoah should have done better when he burst into the box but his shot was saved by the backside of sub 'keeper Brookfield.

When the match looked to be an uphill battle for the Imps, they grit their teeth and turned the game around in unbelievable fashion with two goals in the space of two minutes.

Lincoln won a free-kick around 25 yards from goal, Scott Kerr swung it in and Nat Brown flicked the ball on and the ball bobbled around in the Chester area before Richard Logan smashed it home past a helpless Brookfield. Logan raced over to the fans in the Co-op Stand to celebrate his first Lincoln goal.

From the restart, Lincoln charged forward like a man possessed - since the sending off, the home side seemed rattled. Paul Mayo launched himself into a surging run down the left which took him into the Chester box. His run was brought to a crashing halt when he was brought down by Bolland. Referee Grant Hegley - at the centre of the match - pointed to the spot.

Chester players were furious and remonstrated with the referee, but the decision stood and Mayo stepped up to hammer the ball into the bottom corner to make it 2-1 to the Imps. Two minutes earlier, they were one-nil down. Lincoln fans celebrated wildly in the stands.

It was proving to be an enthralling second half and the controversy refused to come to a halt. Play came to a standstill in the 79th minute as the referee had to give Chester boss Keith Curle a ticking off. But, as referee Hegley walked away, Curle uttered something which saw Hegley turn around and point towards the stands. Curle continued to remonstrate but eventually conceded that he had to watch the rest of the match from the stands.

The Imps going down to ten men seemed to be a blessing in disguise as it seemed to make Chester's job much harder. Lincoln had the bit between their teeth and continued to move forward. Richard Logan - boosted by his goal - sent over a wicked cross from the right which saw Nat Brown steer a powerful header over the crossbar.

Lincoln had a shout for a second penalty on 87 minutes when substitute Marvin Robinson was bundled over in the Chester box, but their appeals were turned away before Nat Brown followed in with a shot which was turned wide for a corner. Paul Mayo's inswinging corner was headed clear by Artell.

Four minutes of added time were given by the fourth official as Lincoln threw their backs to the wall in a bid to defend their one-goal lead. But, with Chester flinging men forward, it allowed the home side to launch a counter-attack which proved deadly for the visitors.

Scott Kerr hammered the ball up field and Asamoah gave chase, 'keeper Brookfield came off his line and fired the ball against Asamoah's shin, and the striker was in. Asamoah and Chester defender Artell gave chase, but it was always Asamoah - one of the fastest strikers in this division - who was going to win, as he rounded Brookfield and ran the ball into the net.

It was the final action of a pulsating second-half which left the home crowd entertained and celebrating three important points.

FT: IMPS 3 CHESTER 1

MATCH FACTS

LINCOLN CITY
Alan MARRIOTT
Gareth McAULEY
Paul MAYO
Jamie McCOMBE
Paul MORGAN
Scott KERR
Nat BROWN
Dean KEATES
Derek ASAMOAH
Gary BIRCH
Richard LOGAN

Subs:
Marvin ROBINSON (for BIRCH 64)
Colin CRYAN
Oliver RYAN
Lee FRECKLINGTON
Jeff HUGHES

Goals: LOGAN (68), MAYO (70), ASAMOAH (90+)

Bookings: BIRCH (19), KERR (44)

Sending Off: KEATES (58)

CHESTER CITY
Chris McKENZIE
Carl REGAN
Phil BOLLAND
Dave ARTELL
Scott McNIVEN
Stewart DRUMMOND
Ben DAVIES
Justin WALKER
Marcus RICHARDSON
Tom CURTIS
Ryan LOWE

Subs:
Ryan BROOKFIELD (for McKENZIE 48)
Abdou EL-KHOLTI (for WALKER 64)
Stephen VAUGHAN
Luke DIMECH
Craig DOVE

Goal: RICHARDSON (49)

Bookings: RICHARDSON (13), WALKER (62), McNIVEN (73), REGAN (84)

Referee: Grant Hegley (Hertfordshire)
Assistants: Mick McDonough & Paul Thompson
Fourth Official: Martyn Short

Attendance: 3,563 (211 visiting supporters)