An 87th minute header from Dagenham & Redbridge substitute Paul Benson condemned the Imps to a narrow defeat in what was an entertaining affair in London on Saturday.

The game was an end-to-end encounter featuring two contrasting styles of football but City found veteran home 'keeper Tony Roberts in inspired form.

The experienced Roberts denied Mark Stallard in the first half when he tipped his goal bound header over the bar whilst in the second period he palmed a Dany N'Guessan shot inches past the post before coming off his line to block a Lee Frecklington effort after the midfielder broke through the middle.

In the end it was second half substitute Paul Benson who broke the deadlock with the striker, who had earlier clipped the outside of the post with a low shot, heading in a Sam Sloma free-kick three minutes from time.

Match report by John Vickers at the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Stadium:

Manager John Schofield kept faith with the starting line-up who began the 2-0 win over Accrington Stanley for this Coca-Cola League 2 game at Dagenham & Redbridge. The only change to the 16 named against Accrington came on the bench where Gary Croft came in for Paul Green.

After a minute's silence in memory of Private Tony Rawson from the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, who was killed whilst on duty in Afghanistan on August 10th, play got underway with the Imps backed by a healthy number of travelling fans who had made their way to the capital for the afternoon's entertainment.

City kicked off with the wind at their backs and were quickly forced on the defensive with the Daggers winning the first corner of the game in the third minute. Alan Marriott commanded his area well though and punched to safety. A deflected Glen Southam effort led to corner number two in the fifth minute; Marriott again punching clear as Chris Moore made a nuisance of himself in the six-yard box.

The Daggers seemed to be a very much 'up and at them' type of team and with John Still in charge were reminiscent of City in the John Beck days, when Still was assistant at Sincil Bank. The Imps of 2007, meanwhile, were looking to get the ball down but chances to do that in the opening 10 minutes were somewhat limited.

A snap shot on the turn from Jamie Forrester brought the game's first attempt at goal in the 13th minute whilst a surging run down the left by Dany N'Guessan ended with Jamie Hand blazing a shot well wide of the target.

A head injury to Nat Brown, which saw blood stream down the side of his face, saw him leave the field just after the quarter hour mark. Brown's absence for a five minutes saw Lee Beevers move inside alongside Adie Moses whilst Ryan Amoo switched to left-back and Jamie Hand went to right-back. Brown returned wearing Ben Wright's number 15 shirt.

A Ben Strevens header which landed on the roof of the net caused a few Lincoln hearts to flutter as the half reached its midway point whilst the hosts won their third corner of the game in the 25th minute. For third time, however, Marriott punched away.

Ten minutes later a mistimed challenge by N'Guessan on Southam gave the hosts a chance from a free-kick in a dangerous position 25 yards from goal but Sam Sloma's driven effort crashed straight into the City wall.

A strange decision by referee Keith Hill in the 39th minute saw him book Jamie Hand after the City midfielder clearly won the ball as he flew into a 50/50 ball with Anwar Uddin. The ball was about five yards away from the Dagenham man as Hand played the ball to N'Guessan but nevertheless, out came the yellow card.

A couple of minutes later City came close to opening the scoring when a Frecklington free-kick was headed across the box by Brown and in nipped Stallard who saw his goalbound header brilliantly tipped over by Tony Roberts. Frecklington then had a shot deflected behind as the Imps enjoyed their best spell of the opening period.

Another City free-kick then led to an almighty scramble which saw N'Guessan have a couple of efforts blocked before Beevers lobbed over. This came before one additional minute was indicated by the Fourth Official.

HT: DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE 0 IMPS 0

No changes were made during the break so it was as you were as the hosts got the second half underway.

A long throw from Scott Griffiths led to the first corner of the second period and when Marriott punched clear City broke on the counter-attack but the final effort from Stallard was half-hit and the ball landed straight into the arms of Roberts.

At the other end, the Daggers forced another corner which was headed well over by towering centre-back Magnus Okuonghae. Ben Strevens then fizzed a right-footed drive over the bar.

Louis Dodds was cautioned in the 55th minute after failing to retreat from a free-kick, although he failed to impede taker Roberts. A couple of minutes later Dodds had a volley saved at the near post by the Daggers 'keeper.

The hosts' response saw Sam Saunders break forward before being denied a shot on goal by good defending by Lee Beevers whilst City had Alan Marriott to thank on two occasions either side of the hour mark when he produced a point blank save to deny Strevens before he flung himself low to his right to palm away a net-bound Dave Rainford header. Strevens then blazed the loose ball well over.

City's response saw N'Guessan drive a foot over before the big Frenchman was set free by Hand but could only look on as Roberts got a fingertip to his shot before the ball bounced an inch past the post for a corner.

In the 66th minute Paul Benson replaced Chris Moore up front for the home side and his first touch saw him drag a shot against the post after he broke down the middle after Dodds was robbed of possession on the half-way line.

It was entertaining end-to-end stuff now as the two team's contrasting styles made for an open encounter with City's fifth and sixth corners of the game coming in the 74th minute. The latter of these ended with Hand seeing his low shot cleared off the line by Griffiths.

At the other end Nat Brown headed a Southam effort off the line after the Daggers man picked the ball up after Marriot punched a corner away and in the 77th minute Louis Dodds made way for Ollie Ryan on the City right.

Ben Strevens was replaced by Jamie Taylor five minutes later and he hadn't ad chance to touch the ball when Frecklington broke through the middle only for the advancing Roberts to spread himself well before Stallard's follow up effort landed in the 'keeper's gloves.

City were made to pay for this missed opportunity as, with only three minutes remaining, the home side broke the deadlock.

The goal came after N'Guessan was penalised for a trip on Saunders and when Sloma swung the free-kick into the danger area it was met by the head of substitute Paul Benson who placed a firm header past Marriott.

Steve Torpey and Owain Warlow almost immediately replaced Jamie Forrester and Dany N'Guessan and in the first of three added minutes Shane Huke came on for Sam Sloma for the home side. This change seemed to take an eternity as the Daggers ate up some valuable seconds.

More seconds elapsed when Danny Foster made the most of things after Lee Beevers was harshly adjudged to have fouled the defender. Ryan Amoo was then booked after Scott Griffiths ran into him; this coming in the fifth additional minute and as such was the last incident of the game.

FT: DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE 1 IMPS 0

MATCH FACTS

LINCOLN CITY
1 Alan MARRIOTT
14 Ryan AMOO
5 Lee BEEVERS
4 Adie MOSES
6 Nat BROWN
7 Lee FRECKLINGTON
26 Jamie HAND
19 Louis DODDS
17 Dany N'GUESSAN
8 Jamie FORRESTER
9 Mark STALLARD

subs
18 Ollie RYAN (for DODDS 77)
10 Steve TORPEY (for FORRESTER 88)
20 Owain WARLOW (for N'GUESSAN 88)
3 Gary CROFT
11 Scott KERR

BOOKINGS: HAND (39), DODDS (55), AMOO (90+5)

DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE
1 Tony ROBERTS
2 Magnus OKUONGHAE
3 Sam SLOMA
7 Sam SAUNDERS
8 Glen SOUTHAM
11 Dave RAINFORD
12 Scott GRIFFITHS
15 Anwar UDDIN
18 Ben STREVENS
19 Danny FOSTER
23 Chris MOORE

subs
14 Paul BENSON (for MOORE 66)
16 Jamie TAYLOR (for STREVENS 82)
6 Shane HUKE (for SLOMA 90+1)
22 Marlon PATTERSON
30 Ed THOMPSON

GOAL: BENSON (87)

MATCH OFFICIALS

REFEREE: Keith Hill (Hertfordshire)
ASSISTANTS: John Hayto & Tony Mason
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Rob Whitton

ATTENDANCE: 2,060 (468 City supporters)