Romford suffered a horror start after losing captain Kris Newby to a straight red card in the opening five minutes following a sliding challenge on Tobias Liversidge.
Lincoln went in front through Finlay Dorrell six minutes later but Romford were level just before the hour thanks to a Matthew Cotton penalty.
The visitors thought they’d won it at the death when Elliott Dye slotted home but a rather fortunate Romford equaliser from Ash Siddik deep into time added on kept it perfectly poised for the second leg.
“It was an excellent performance,” said a relieved Romford boss Dan Spinks.
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