LOVE him or hate him, there is simply no denying the clinical goalscoring prowess of Lee Hughes.

In the news for all the wrong reasons ahead of this trip to the Bescot Stadium, there was speculation the former West Brom striker would not even play on his return to his native West Midlands.

But the 35-year-old did start – despite confirmation on Monday that he had been charged with sexual assault for an alleged incident prior to the FA Cup tie at Sutton United in December – and rewarded his boss, Martin Allen, handsomely.

It took Hughes just 141 seconds to show his undoubted class with a superbly-taken goal that shook Walsall to such a degree that they never recovered.

That ability to ignore the boo-boys and produce some of his best football during times of controversy has served the fox in the box well all through his career.

The bottom line is, when fit and firing, there are still few better strikers at this level.

'Lee Hughes is a goal machine', sang the delighted Magpies fans as their team ended a run of six consecutive away defeats in style.

It also brought only a second success in 15 league matches and halted what has been a steady slide down the table either side of Christmas.

Perhaps the only disappointment for Notts was that they did not go on to score more, which meant for a nervy last half hour as they defended their clean sheet.

The biggest surprise on the Notts team-sheet was Hughes' choice of strike partner as loan signing Jonathan Forte was left on the bench after he was brought of at half-time of Saturday's FA Cup defeat at Stevenage.

But the decision to select Ben Burgess, who made his first start in eight matches, since the 2-1 defeat at Sheffield United on December 27, proved to be an excellent one.

The other two Notts changes were enforced with neither Julian Kelly nor Jeff Hughes able to take the field.

Their shirts went to Kieron Freeman (right-back) and Jon Harley (left-back), with Alan Sheehan pushed further forward onto the left flank.

Former Notts trainee James Walker was playing his first match at the Bescot Stadium since breaking the all-time appearance record for Walsall with 530.

The popular goalkeeper was given a guard of honour by both sets of players as he ran out ahead of kick-off.

The hosts started brightly as Jon Macken fed Jamie Paterson on the left and his curling shot from the corner of the box as he cut in flew inches wide of the target.

Yet it was Notts who went in front through that man Hughes, silencing the home crowd in the process.

He controlled a flick on from Burgess following a long ball forward and instantly unleashed a shot from just inside the box that found the left-wing corner unerringly.

The Magpies, roared on by their travelling fans almost netted a second within seconds but Burgess' snapshot from Harley's left-wing centre flew inches wide of the left-hand upright with Walker scrambling.

It was Notts who continued to knock the ball around confidently and do much of the attacking and as Mahon broke up play in the middle of the park, Burgess again went close.

This time Alan Judge tried his luck and as the ball broke kindly for the rugged front man, his curling shot from the edge of the area was destined for the right corner until Walker intervened to tip the ball around the post.

From the resulting corner, Mahon made a late run to try his luck on the half-volley from 18 yards but the ball was always rising over the top.

More efforts came in from Hughes and Neal Bishop and while Walker claimed both easily, it was further evidence Notts had been galvanised by their early breakthrough.

A rare Walsall attack saw Macken let fly, but it never troubled Stuart Nelson in the visitors' goal.

Hughes was frustrated just before the hour when Sheehan miscued an attempted through ball that would have put the front man in the clear.

Bishop required treatment as the game reached the midway point of the first half but the skipper continued after treatment.

At the other end, Harley massively over-hit a cross with Hughes in acres of space at the far post and immediately put his hands on his head, acknowledging his mistake.

It was a reflection of the Magpies' dominance that with just 37 minutes on the watch, the Saddlers hauled off Macken and replaced him with George Bowerman.

Soon after, a tricky run from Freeman enabled him to reach the byline and pick out Bishop, whose cross fizzed across the six-yard box with no Notts player on hand to apply the finishing touch.

With half-time approaching, Harley was robbed of the ball on the left touchline by Richard Taundry but his resulting drive from distance spun well wide.

As the second period got under way, a dink over the top from Freeman looked to have put Hughes away, but the ball got stuck under his feet before he was penalised for controlling with his hand.

Next to try his luck was Bishop, who blasted too high after a poor defensive header, but the hosts were not about to give up and Alex Nicholls forced Nelson to his knees with a low, angled drive.

Hughes might have doubled his and Notts' tally just before the hour when he latched onto Bishop's hopeful punt over the top only to be thwarted by the legs of advancing substitute keeper David Grof, who had replaced Walker at the break.

With Walsall building up a head of steam and pushing Notts further and further back, Damion Stewart twice made well-timed interceptions to snuff out Walsall's threat.

The hosts had the ball in the net in the 75th minute, but the referee immediately ruled out the effort for a push on Nelson.

There was some relief when Judge was set free by Mahon down the right, only to shoot wide of the left-hand post with his left foot. Hughes departed with five minutes to go, Forte coming on, and three minutes of stoppage time were added.

In truth, though, the Magpies were rarely concerned, with the combative Stewart outstanding.

Next stop for Notts is a Stevenage revenge mission. Hughes, you suspect, can hardly wait.

Notts: Nelson, Freeman, Stewart, Chilvers, Harley, Judge, Bishop, Mahon, Sheehan, L. Hughes (Forte 85), Burgess (Bencherif 76). Subs not used: Demontagnac, Sodje, Mitchell.

Walsall: Walker (Grof 46), Sadler, Butler, Smith, Chambers, Macken (Bowerman 37), Beevers, Taundry, Paterson, Nicholls, Peterlin (Cuvelier 61). Subs not used: Lancashire, Hurst.

Referee: Dean Whitestone (Northants).

Attendance: 3,647 (394 visitors).