Hatters boss Mick Harford hasn't given up hope of Luton pulling off a remarkable escape from relegation despite two points being dropped at Sincil Bank.
It was not a happy homecoming for Harford, who began his career at Lincoln and was rated as their eighth greatest player in a recent poll, as his Luton side failed to capitalise on defeats to Grimsby and Chester.
But as Harford explained, he couldn't fault Hatters' commitment.
“We were comfortable from start to finish,” he said. “They never looked like scoring, they never really threatened us and no disrespect to Lincoln but their best player was their goalkeeper.
“It's a poor result for both teams. Lincoln needed a win, we needed a win. We got a clean sheet which is fantastic but we got into some good positions, time after time and the final pass, the final shot just wasn't right today.
“Maybe we panicked. We looked rushed and hurried to get the ball into the box. In different circumstances it's a good result – they're chasing the play off places and we totally dominated. But the position we're in a 0-0 is no good to us.”
It was a clash of cultures as Lincoln's long-ball tactics met Hatters' neat passing game. Harford said: “They played a lot from back to front – a hell of a lot from back to front and our defence did well."
Tom Craddock found the net at Wembley but he missed a guilt-edged chance at the death which would have secured the precious three points.
But Harford refused to blame the Teesside hitman saying: “You can't play the game for them. When he was in that position he obviously thought it was the right thing to do. I believe we've got a team of honest, talented players here.”
Luton's dogged display was typified by Keith Keane who turned in a sterling performance but missed a sitter in the first half leaving his manager to say: “Keith's disappointed – it was a great ball in from Tommy (Craddock) and it got under his feet. He doesn't find himself in that position very often.
“I'm disappointed with the result but the performance, in my opinion, is up there with the best we've played this season.”
The man himself was equally as angry at fluffing his lines. “I feel embarrassed, I should have scored that,” said Keane. “I didn't think Tom was going to get the ball to me.
"If I was a striker then maybe... I don't get to practice shooting in training! I'll have to ask the gaffer to let me have a couple of goes.
“Our strong point is usually the front players. Any other day we would have won two or three nil but today wasn't one of those days.
“We're looking forward to the games – you always do when you're playing well. We need to take today's performance into Monday and come away with a win.
“The lads were gutted because we've dominated Lincoln. They're pushing for play-offs and we're 'supposedly' bottom and we've bettered them the whole game.”
At the final whistle both sets of players fell to the floor exhausted and Keane remarked: “The fans should be happy – they saw both teams go at it. The fans got their money's worth.”
After the Johnstone's Paint Trophy win Harford has to get his side to focus on the remaining league fixtures. “It was a tough game at Wembley – 120 minutes of hard work,” he said. “The emotions of Wembley are still running around the town and the football club and I think that coming to play after the 'Lord Mayor's Show' is difficult and I think the players handled it very well. They had a professional attitude and deserved to get a win.
“We've got to win every game. We kept a clean sheet which is always the first priority. We'll have to beat Chesterfield on Monday and Barnet on Saturday. We've got to turn our possession into goals.”
Keane echoed Harford's thoughts: “The manager's just said to us that the only thing that matters is what we do. We could win all our games and still go down. It is a bit of a kick in the teeth (Grimsby and Chester losing) but you have to keep going.”