Jamie Lowry was a surprise exclusion from the Chesterfield side to face Lincoln City at Sincil Bank tonight, having bruised his foot in the game with Morecambe. Adam Rooney was an interesting replacement that suggested a commitment to attack, even though the word was that he would play right midfield in a 4-4-2. Adam Smith made it onto the bench in Rooney's place, for his first involvement since the Wycombe game.

Lincoln started with a cautious 4-1-4-1 formation. Chesterfield won a corner after 59 seconds but Bastians' in-swinger was cleared. Lester left the ball for Ward on 3 and Marriott saved his angled shot. Marriott was called into action again to save Bastians' goal-bound header from Ward's cross on 6 as the visiting supporters made themselves heard.

Chesterfield took the lead on 8. Ward flicked it over his head to LESTER, who smashed it past Marriott in clinical fashion for his twelfth Spireites goal of the season.

Lincoln won their first corner on 10 minutes and Green took it without - thank God - the air-raid siren. Downes cleared, N'Guessan returned it and Kovacs cleared the second effort on goal.

The lads celebrate with Jack

LESTER scored a goal of great class to double the Spireites' lead on 17. He brought the ball down, exchanged passes with Rooney and crashed the ball past the hapless Marriott. Lester found Niven on 19 on the edge of the box and he found Rooney, who bore down on goal before a last-ditch tackle stopped him. Ward's header from the visitors' third corner made it to Leven, whose shot narrowly missed the target.

The greatest danger to the visitors at this stage was complacency, as Lincoln struggled to mount any sort of response. The Imps were reduced to trying to find the lone Torpey but Chesterfield were able to mop this up well enough and press forward. This was the case on 28 when Lester and Ward linked up to exchange passes as they broke, Ward shot powerfully and beat Marriott all ends up, but the ball cannoned off the post.

When Torpey was found at the back post on 31, he couldn't get the ball down; it was cleared and, within seconds, Ward was running at Marriott in the Lincoln area. Lincoln threatened a little more and Torpey needed tighter marking than he received on 33 when getting under a header at Roche's back post. With Rooney a little unfamiliar with the defensive elements of the wide right role, the ball behind him was beginning to expose Phil Picken.

Rooney found Ward with a great ball on 35 and the youngster flashed a shot narrowly over. Roche was tested again by a header by the back post on 38. Downes brought Torpey down on 39 and was yellow-carded for it.

Jack's hat-trick goal

LESTER completed his hat-trick on 41. Ward was the creator, setting up Jack to dispatch a left-footed shot from 12 yards. Some hat-trick stats: it was the first by any Chesterfield player against Lincoln, in 92 attempts. It was Chesterfield's first Football League hat-trick without the assistance of a penalty since Andy Morris's against Cardiff in 1988-9, and the first away League hat-trick without a pen since Ernie's at Walsall in 1980. Both those games, of course, ended in a Spireite defeat!!.

Lincoln pulled one back on 44 when N'Guessan scored with a neat right-footed shot from the edge of the area.

Halftime: A repeat of the 1902 scoreline - Lincoln 1, Leicester 3.

Lincoln replaced Hand and Torpey with Wright and Forrester at half-time.

Rooney worked the ball into the box on 50 and shot, forcing a save from Marriott, but the keeper spilled it; Lester stole in and shot, but the ball struck the post. An instinctive turn and shot from Lester on 55 left Marriott helpless but streaked into the side netting.

Lincoln's substitutions made the midfield a more competitive zone and allowed them to knock balls over the defence for forwards to run on to.

The attendance was announced as 3,893, with a sparkling away turnout of 924.

Chesterfield won their first corner of a sedate second half on 64. KOVACS appeared at the far post to hammer the ball into the Lincoln net and make it 4-1. Ward played on after the whistle blew for a free kick and lifted the ball onto the bar, earning himself a yellow card. Roche was alert to deny Frecklington despite the home player bringing the ball down with his hand. From the corner, slack work at the back allowed Bencherif to bring the deficit back to two goals with an action replay of Morecambe's first goal on Saturday. Immediately, Lee Richardson prepared to make substitutions.

Aaron clears

Phil Picken picked up his fifth yellow of the season on 70, apparently for time wasting. Downes came in with a fine tackle to deny Frecklington. Kevin Gray replaced Bastians and Steve Fletcher came on for Jamie Ward on 72.

Lincoln came back into the game as the second half continued, keeping the ball well. Robertson looked set to score on 79 after Lester's set-up but a saving tackle took the ball away. N'Guessan rather lost the plot with Leven on 82 and the referee oddly booked both the aggressor and his innocent victim.