NIGEL Clough said conceding a goal in the second minute ultimately cost his team three points at the Pirelli Stadium.
Lincoln went ahead from a corner and then sealed the victory with a breakaway goal in injury time.
The Brewers manager said: "Giving them the goal after two minutes decided the game in the end. We couldn't afford do that, as it means we were chasing the game for long periods at home.
"It wasn't so much defending the corner that disappointed us, but giving the ball away after five seconds from the kick off. That set us back.
"The goal gave them a lift and they threw bodies in the way, blocked shots and made it hard for us.
"One thing I'm not disappointed with is the effort of the players on the back of all the games in the last two weeks.
"In the final third there were too many wasted crosses, and we didn't have anyone with that individual piece of skill to go and unlock their defence and get us a goal but the effort was there.
"We had a shout for a penalty in the second half. It was a difficult one for the referee as it wasn't clear cut."
The Brewers were also hampered by the recurrence of Nathan Broadhead's hamstring injury.
Clough said: "He's trained all this week so we thought he was fully fit but it's tightened up again. It's a big blow for us as I thought after the first two minutes he and Liam Boyce were causing them problems and we hadn't got too many options on the bench."
The Brewers will also loose Ryan Edwards at Wycombe next week after he picked up his fifth yellow card but have got no midweek game so have a chance to rest legs ahead of the trip to the league leaders.
Clough said: "We will miss Ryan next week but hopefully we will get two or three players back."