MOST football fans will demand blood, sweat and tears on the football pitch.

Stanley saw the blood on Saturday when Imps defender Janos Kovacs cut his head and then had the Stanley staff working overtime in the First Aid room as they battled to stop the flow.

The sweat came from the Reds whose effort could not be faulted in the first half but they fell short on the day - especially after the break.

And so the tears would have been in the Stanley dressing room as John Coleman said a sharp after-match talk and left his players knowing that he demands better in the final five games of the season.

"I have told the players in no uncertain terms that performances like that will not be tolerated." said Coleman.

"I don’t think Lincoln are a better side than us and I am not going to go back to the stage of us being the better team and losing games."

The Reds have laid a couple of ghosts to rest this season, seeing off Darlington - who they had never beaten - and it was hoped that they could do the same to Lincoln, who they have also never got three points against.

The hopes were high as the confidence in the camp has been good following a six match unbeaten run which has guided Stanley clear of the relegation zone - although still not mathematically safe.

However it fell apart in the fourth minute when Lincoln scored, Stanley then failed to take their chances and the visitors took charge after the break to inflict Stanley’s 19th league defeat of the season - and they could have few complaints despite Lincoln stopper Rob Burch being in top form.

"In the second half, we were poor," said the Reds boss.

"We were slack at the start, but then we dominated the game and could have been three or four nil up.

"But we didn’t score when we were on top and we compounded it by giving away another stupid goal five minutes after the break. They were always going to kill the game after that which they did well - time wasting, feigning injuries - but you can’t knock them for it.

"To lose twice to them when we have dominated for long periods in both games really sticks in my throat."

Lincoln inflicted the biggest loss of the season on Stanley with a 5-1 thumping at Sincil Bank when keeper Kenny Arthur took a blow to the kidneys in the first half but carried on playing before ending up in hospital for three days.

The stopper said he wanted to remember this game but he might not want to after his first action was picking the ball out of the back of the net with just four minutes gone.

Romanian striker Adrian Patulea took a quick throw in found Lincoln skipper Scott Kerr - who Stanley faced in his Scarborough days - who made space for himself, caught the Reds defence out of position and fired low into the bottom corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

But then it became the Burch show as the Imps stopper had to be at the top of his game to keep out the Reds.

The ex-Tottenham trainee denied Liverpool striker Craig Lindfield, pushing his effort over the bar.

The stopper then kept hold of a John Miles’ volley while Jimmy Ryan's free kick was well held by Burch.

And the goalie was in the action again making a diving save to keep out a Lindfield 25-yard strike on the half hour as Lincoln rarely troubled the Reds goal and Stanley went all out for an equaliser.

However the Reds were almost caught out on 40 minutes when they lost possession in midfield, Kerr broke and set up one-time Stanley target Anthony Elding but the ex-Leeds striker fired his effort narrowly wide of Arthur's post - a warning of what was to come.

But it was Burch who again saved his side just before half-time when Ryan's long range effort came off Reds defender Kieran Charnock in the box and almost wrong-footed the stopper but he changed direction quickly to keep out the home side.

And then Lincoln struck the killer blow five minutes after the re-start and it was effectively game over.

Stanley were meant to be awarded a free kick but referee Dean Whitestone waved play-on and Robbie Williams played a loose pass to Ryan, Kerr pounced to take the ball, run at Kieran Charnock and a deflection took it beyond Arthur.

Kerr, who hadn’t scored all season, admitted he was shocked to see it go in and Peter Jackson’s side did then take charge while also stifling the game.

Defender Kovacs had to change his shirt three times because of the blood - before eventually being subbed because Lincoln had run out of shirts - and the home crowd did get frustrated as the Imps and the ref made the game stop start.

Elding and Michael O'Connor almost grabbed a third but then the introduction of Sean McConville did make a difference for the Reds as he added a new impetus for the final 10 minutes.

His strike from the edge of the area was inches wide of the goal, Burch touched over a Miles cross-some-shot at the death and O'Connor back-heeled a Ryan shot off the line in the fifth minute of injury time to sum up Stanley’s day.

"At the end of the day, the players have set themselves their own standards but fell well short of them today," added Coleman.

"Again we have lost to a team who are inferior to us or, on todays evidenvce, didn’t show anything that they were better than us apaprt from us giving them two silly goals."