Lincoln City ended their three-game winless run with a 3-0 home victory over Braintree Town.
Over 3,500 fans were at Sincil Bank to see the Imps re-discover their winning ways and end the evening in fourth place, just three points off the top.
Danny Cowley’s side showed their intentions from the get-go and they got their first in the fourth minute as Matt Rhead brought the ball down and played a great pass to the right, where Nathan Arnold found the net from just outside the area with a powerful cross-goal finish past Will Puddy.
And Arnold wanted more action shortly after, linking up well with Rhead and Alex Woodyard on several occasions as they searched for a second.
And City should have been two-up in the 15th minute but there was no one on the end of Lee Beevers’s great ball into the box.
But Braintree came close to snatching an equaliser before half-time as Ollie Muldoon’s long-range effort fired just wide.
The Imps finally got their second just six minutes into the second-half as captain Luke Waterfall headed in from Terry Hawkridge’s corner to make it 2-0.
Braintree replied with their second real shot on target on the hour-mark but Paul Farman made a good save to stop Harry Lee’s curling free-kick from just outside the box.
City made it 3-0 after Arnold played a free-kick short to Muldoon on the edge of the area, who turned and fired a sublime effort into the top-left corner to secure all three points for the Imps.
But according to Danny Cowley, the visitors almost “ruined” his night with a late consolation goal as Michael Cheek’s effort was cleared off the line by Sean Raggett in the 93rd minute.
After the game, Cowley said: “It’s always nice to get an early goal. We were really disappointed with our start against Dover. It’s always important, especially at home because it gets the crowd up and with you.”
Cowley said he was pleased with his side’s workman-like performance, and their determination to get through the difficult patches.
He said: “We started the game with real intensity, then we had a lull in the period before half-time. Then I thought we came out much better in the second-half.”
The manager said he was pleased with the Imps’ approach with the ball, but was slightly disappointed with how they responded to not having possession.
“I thought we tried to pass it better. I just felt after the first 15 minutes we could have pressed the ball better than we did,” he said.
The Imps, currently fourth in the league, will now focus their attention on Tuesday night’s away trip to 11th placed Wrexham.