On a frozen pitch, Jim Gannon's Vale slumped to a poor 0-1 defeat with little more than a wimper.
In came Chris Martin in goal (for injured Stuart Tomlinson), although he had little to do with the spirited Vale defender John McCombe keeping the Lincoln attack (particularly Ashley Grimes) at bay.
Grimes (no relation to the former Stoke player) scored late, creeping in to receive a sneaky pass from Josh O'Keefe on 86 minutes, casually stroking it past Martin.
O'Keefe hit the post, whilst Vale failed to hit anything.
Vale now 6th and falling fast. Can it get worse?