AT the start of this match John Coleman must have thought he had smashed a mirror or walked under a ladder on his way to the Fraser Eagle Stadium.

Lady Luck has never shone a bright light on the Reds on their return to the Football League, and for the first 25 minutes against Lincoln it looked as though anything that could go wrong, would go wrong.

An injury to debut goalkeeper David Martin, signed just 24 hours earlier on loan from Liverpool, who appeared to go over on his ankle, forced him off the field after just four minutes.

It was debatable whether the 21-year-old had even touched the ball during his short spell on the pitch that lasted almost as long as his long lonely limp back to the changing room.

And then Paul Mullin thought he'd scored after 10 minutes when he headed in a high flighted ball from Alan Rogers, only for the referee to harshly disallow the "goal" for his challenge on goalkeeper Alan Marriott, who appeared to flounder rather than be fouled.

They say bad luck comes in threes and that was the case five minutes later when the set was complete and Lee Beevers opened the scoring for the visitors, totally against the run of play.

Coleman admitted he feared the worst.

He said: "You think about that money spider I picked up today and put outside and maybe I should've stood on it.

"I personally thought there was nothing wrong with the goal and that's our luck because we don't maybe get away with chances like that."

However, fortune favours the brave and, a goal down and their first choice keeper down, the Reds showed remarkable spirit, and their never-say-die attitude saw them come back, not just once, but twice, in a match they could well have ended up winning.

And Lady Luck even showed up in injury time when Imps substitute Spencer Weir-Daley was through on goal only for the striker to shoot hopelessly into the arms of Przemyslaw Kazimierczak, who gathered at the second attempt.

Coleman added: "All credit to the lads for keeping going when things were conspiring against them.

"It was a bit of a soft goal (the second goal) and we could've let our heads drop but we didn't.

"We galvanised ourselves. It was a brilliant ball from Michael Welch (for the second goal). He's got that in his locker, and Paul showed the composure and ability to finish it well."

The Reds boss made three changes from the midweek defeat at Darlington with midfielder Jay Harris and defender Mauro Almeida dropping to the bench to be replaced by Andy Procter and Michael Welch.

And Martin took his place between the sticks, although admittedly, it could be a contender for the shortest ever debut, because before he knew it, he was off to hospital only to return at the end of the match on crutches.

Stanley had not won at home since Mansfield last month and Stockport last week were the latest side to leave the Fraser Eagle with all three points.

And few would have expected any better with the visit of high-flying Lincoln whose topsy-turvy week included a fine win over promotion rivals Walsall - and then a crushing defeat by Hereford.

The odds on a Stanley win would have increased considerably after events at the start, but there were glimpses that the Reds weren't going to be rolled over with captain Paul Mullin at the heart of their early attacking play.

Unbelievably though, it was the Imps who broke the deadlock with a move straight from the training ground. Lee Frecklington played a low corner to the edge of the box where Beevers was waiting in acres of space to guide a volley into the bottom corner of the net.

Kazimierczak's first act of the day was to pick the ball out of the net.

The goal, however, only served to push Stanley forward even more with a blend of attacking football rarely seen since their halcyon days of winning the Conference last season.

This was typified by flying winger Shaun Whalley who burst forward from inside his own half, past Nicky Eaden as if he wasn't there, before being felled unceremoniously by Nat Brown.

Welch took the free kick, which was parried, but neither Mullin or Procter could find a finish.

The same, however, could not be said for goal machine Andy Todd, who levelled the scores after 22 minutes.

Todd picked up the ball 20 yards from goal, brought it under control, and hit a sweet half volley that just beat the fingertips of Marriott.

City top scorer Jamie Forrester had an effort saved by the legs of Kazimierczak, but it was Stanley that looked the more potent with Rommy Boco and Mullin combining well.

And so it was even more surprising when the visitors grabbed back the lead after the break.

John Schofield must have had some harsh words to say to his side because they came out a completely different proposition and found themselves ahead soon after the restart.

Scott Kerr picked up a long ball that had deflected off Tony Grant and lobbed a delicate shot over the head of the advancing Kazimierczak.

Again though, Stanley came back and Phil Edwards almost scored an absolute cracker. The right back unleashed a spectacular strike from all of 30 yards that Marriott managed to tip past the post.

Mullin had worked his socks off all afternoon and he was rewarded for his endeavor with a typically strong finish. The big striker was picked out by Welch inside the area, held off the challenges of two defenders, and calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net.

And he could have grabbed the winner just minutes later when he and Whalley combined, but this time the Imps managed to clear.

Rogers, Whalley and Grant all tried their luck unsuccessfully before Weir-Daley almost stole the points at the death.

But luck wasn't on his side.