Lincoln 1, City 2

Gareth Evans wasted no time at all in keeping his new year’s resolution.

With the worst away scoring record in the league, it has been easy to pinpoint the big problem holding City back.

But Evans went into 2011 promising that he and his fellow goal-shy strikers would finally start delivering the goods.

And Evans and James Hanson proved good to his word, both netting to promise brighter times ahead in a season so far riddled with frustrations.

It was Hanson’s fifth goal in all but only second in the league. Evans, meanwhile, doubled his tally with his first from open play since that purple patch at the end of last term.

Evans admitted: “I’ve had to wait a long time. No two ways about it, this has been a tough season for me so far.

“I didn’t have a particularly good Christmas but we’re into a new year now and hopefully I can start scoring some goals.

“I said the other day that every one of us strikers is capable, given the opportunity. There are that many games left, I’m definitely backing myself to score more.”

Evans is such a confidence player and his spirits had been lifted by Peter Taylor’s public praise for his performance at Cheltenham.

There were certainly no personal demons holding him back when he latched on to a long clearance just before half-time and bore down on goal.

With little support to look for, Evans had to go it alone and cut back inside centre half Adam Watts before drilling a perfect left-foot shot into the bottom corner.

It was a sweet strike which also blew away any doubts from giving away the penalty that had allowed Lincoln to level.

City had begun in blistering fashion and were ahead after just 67 seconds, the fastest of the day in England’s four professional divisions. The goal was a defensive howler but, for a change, it came at the other end.

Steve Williams pumped a long free-kick into the penalty area which should have been meat and drink for Moses Swaibu. Instead the defender opted to let it bounce through for his keeper, forgetting that Hanson was between them to slot home.

Lincoln, already rusty from going over a month without a game, looked there for the taking and Hanson was denied a second by Jamie Clapham’s block in front of the line.

But Evans gifted them a way back in by handling twice. The first, level with the edge of the City D, was plain daft and conceded a cheap free-kick.

The second was unfortunate as Clapham’s setpiece smacked his arm in the middle of the wall. He could do nothing about it – and nor could Lenny Pidgeley with the resulting penalty from Ashley Grimes.

Taylor had reconstructed his back four after the midweek errors. Only Richard Eckersley survived, while Luke O’Brien was pushed into midfield to accommodate Robbie Threlfall.

But it was the return in the middle of Williams and, in particular, Shane Duff which gave City a much sturdier look.

It was Duff’s first appearance for three months without even a reserve run-out but he commanded and organised from the off. Let’s hope his body can stand up to two games in three days after such a long spell of inactivity.

Behind him, Pidgeley had a surprisingly shaky time. He is set to sign a new deal in time to face Bury but it was not a convincing advert for the keeper’s cause.

City, to their credit, had ridden the blow of Lincoln’s penalty. Further chances fell for David Syers and Williams before Evans unveiled his party piece to restore a deserved half-time advantage.

It was only the fourth league game when City had led at the break and they had gone on to win the previous three.

That looked the case again when Evans was pulled down in the box by Clapham. But first-year referee Mark Brown, looking more like a first-day novice at times, amazed the whole ground by giving the foul in Lincoln’s favour.

Having had an unfortunate hand in the earlier penalty, Evans was stunned to see such a blatant one waved away.

He stormed: “It was the most ridiculous decision I’ve had in my professional career. I went across the defender, he kicked me and the next thing I was on the floor – it was that obvious.

“I saw the ref blow his whistle but then he put his arm the other way. I couldn’t believe it. He wouldn’t even tell me what it was for. He refused to give a reason and just told me to go away.”

Thankfully it didn’t matter in the end. But the incident loomed larger as Lincoln found a second wind in the final 20 minutes.

After Williams had missed another great chance for a killer third goal, City grew nervy and started to cough the ball up cheaply. Lincoln sensed a second comeback.

O’Brien thwarted Mustapha Carayol with a perfect sliding tackle, taking a tetchy foul for his troubles, and Grimes bounced the ball on the top of the bar from a corner scramble.

Delroy Facey, so often City’s nemesis, and Watts both had chances. Then substitute Ben Hutchinson fired across goal in stoppage time.

It was far closer than it should have been before City secured the result they needed to atone for Cheltenham.

New year, new ways? Let’s see what happens at Valley Parade this afternoon.

Attendance: 3,225