Lincoln moved level on points with League One leaders Portsmouth with an emphatic 4-0 victory at struggling Northampton

The Imps outclassed their beleaguered hosts from the moment Anthony Scully opened the scoring inside two minutes, with Tom Hopper and Brennan Johnson, who netted twice, adding further goals.

Lincoln made the perfect start, with just 65 seconds on the clock when Scully collected Johnson’s simple ball over the top and was allowed the time and space to slot home.

Fraser Horsfall was off target with a couple of efforts for Northampton, but Lincoln continued to look more threatening, with Lewis Montsma’s shot superbly blocked by Danny Rose.

The visitors doubled their lead three minutes before half-time when Hopper turned in Jorge Grant’s free-kick.

Nicky Adams missed Northampton’s best chance when scooping over early in the second half.

Cian Bolger also powered a header against the crossbar, but Lincoln sealed victory with two late goals from Johnson, lifting a finish over Steve Arnold after 83 minutes and then tucking one into the bottom corner in added time.