Two goals from Reeco Hackett fired City to an impressive come-from-behind win at Plymouth Argyle.
Aribim Pepple had fired in-form Argyle into an early lead with a quick instinctive shot, which nestled into the bottom left corner, but after Freddie Draper had drawn the Imps level they turned on the style in the second half to score three goals and claim the victory.
Hackett scored two of those, the first a fantastic low finish and the second direct from a corner, before Ryan Oné marked his Imps debut with a strike in time added on.
The victory stretched City's unbeaten run in the league to 13 points, and was a fourth straight win.
City were unchanged for the fourth game in a row, with head coach Michael Skubala trusting the same players who had claimed victory in their three previous outings.
Both sides opened brightly, with Ronan Curtis flashing a delivery across the area inside the opening minute and Tom Hamer needing to be alert to block a Caleb Watts effort.
Jack Moylan blocked a Curtis shot, before leading a counter-attack after collecting a pass from Sonny Bradley. Moylan's cross from the left found its way to Draper at the far post but City's top scorer - expecting Argyle defender Harding to clear - was caught by surprise and poked the ball wide.
Hamer fired a shot that went just over after 11 minutes, and the home side struck almost straight from the restart as Luca Ashby-Hammond's goal kick found Pepple. The forward only had one thought in his mind as he quickly got the ball out in front of him and let fly with a perfectly-placed left footed shot which curled into the bottom left corner.
With the rain pouring down, both sides had to work hard to keep control of the ball. Moylan beat Ashby-Hammond to a long ball from Bradley and, for a second, looked like he would either get past the home keeper or be brought down - in the end the home keeper positioned himself well to block City's No.10 and got back into he area to safely claim the ball
Pepple, full of confidence after his strike earlier, tried his luck from well outside the area. It would have take something special to beat Wickens from that distance, and City's No.1 was not troubled despite the ball bouncing awkwardly in the sodden ground just in front of him.
The Imps were enjoying some good spells as they sought an equaliser and Adam Reach and Ivan Varfolomeev both saw shots blocked. Another good movement saw Draper hold up the ball from Bradley's diagonal pass to find Reeco Hackett, who cut inside before letting fly with a left-footed shot which flashed just wide of the near post.
The chances continued to come, with McGrandles and Draper having further shots blocked before Moylan had the ball nicked from his toes. That led to a throw-in, then a corner, which led to the Imps levelling when Draper headed home from close range with his eighth goal of the season and City's 17th set-piece strike of the campaign.
The home side suffered a blow just before the break when the impressive Pepple needed to be replaced after clashing with Varfolomeev. The Ukrainian midfielder did not return for the second half, either, as he was replaced by Tom Bayliss.
City were the first to threaten in the second period with a Reach cross from the left looping just over the bar.
The Imps took control of the early exchanges of the second period, with a sign of Argyle's lack of opportunities coming when Watts got away from City's midfield and thought Wickens was further out of his area than he was, and tried to lob Wickens from close to the half way line. It was ultimately a routine catch for Wickens.
The Imps went ahead after 53 minutes after winning the ball back inside the Argyle half. The ball was worked through from Darikwa on the right all the way to the left. It found Reach, whose cross went all the way through to Hackett who fired home with his left foot.
City, buoyed by the goal, went hunting for more goals as Ashby-Hammond had to be alert to tip a Moylan cross over the bar.
Bayliss saw an effort deflected wide, after collecting the ball from Street just outside the area, but it was only a temporary reprieve for the hosts.
Hackett's delivery from the resultant corner was perfect and Ashby-Hammond was unable to connect, and the ball found its way into the back of the net. Hackett's goal saw him pull ahead of Draper to top the club's goalscoring charts with nine for the season.
Argyle pushed in the closing stages, with danger when Wickens had to be alert to punch away a Curtis piledriver after it had taken a wicked deflection off a boot of Hamer. Reach also got in a couple of key blocks.
Imps head coach Skubala sought to see out the game with fresh legs up front, with Alfie Lloyd and Ben House among those sent on to provide impetus and close down the Argyle defence.
City looked to see the game out, but did continue to threaten on the counter. Darikwa, full of energy, provided some dangerous crosses from the right.
House almost struck from one after 88 minutes, with only Ashby-Hammond palming the ball behind.
And there was still time for a magical moment for Oné, who marked his debut with his first Imps goal with a calm finish on a late counter-attack, collecting a clearance from Lloyd just outside his own area before racing home to strike.
Imps: Wickens, Darikwa, Reach, Hackett (Towler,, 90+2), Moylan (Lloyd, 73), McGrandles, Bradley, Street (House, 73), Hamer, Varfolomeev (Bayliss, 45), Draper (Oné, 84). Subs not used: Jeacock Jefferies.
Argyle: Ashby-Hammond, Harding, Mitchell, Ross, Edwards (Szucs, 66), Dale (Amaechi,, 66), Boateng, Wiredu (Kane, 79), Curtis, Pepple (Osani, 45), Watts (Paterson, 79). Subs not used: Baker, MacKenzie.
Official: Stephen Martin
Attendance: 15,547 (605 away)
