THERE is a nice symmetry about Notts County's victory at Grimsby. It is their fourth successive win in League Two, built on a fourth clean-sheet in a row, which lifts them one place to fourth in the table.

Oh yes, and Lee Hughes won it, like he has so many times already this season, with his 22nd goal at Blundell Park, the 150th league goal of his career.

There is simply no stopping the Magpies, and Hughes, right now, it seems. They are well and truly on the march, in spite of all of the club's financial problems that are still unresolved.

After their three previous wins against Burton Albion, Dagenham and Barnet, this was a more bruising, full-bloodied encounter, to say the very least.

It threatened to boil over at times. Certainly, Mariners striker Tommy Wright was lucky not see red. He was booked after an x-rated tackle on Neal Bishop in the first half, and then looked to elbow Mike Edwards in the face as the pair challenged for the ball in the air in the second half.

The home side felt too, Ricky Ravenhill should have been sent off for a late tackle on their leading scorer, Peter Sweeney, in the first half.

Both sides ended the game with 11 men. Crucially, Notts finished with three points too. It was a battle and Notts won it, before Hughes took his only clear-cut chance of the game in the second half, typically.

Again, Notts looked supremely solid at the back. Keeper Kasper Schmeichel pulled off a string of stunning saves to claim a shut-out against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup, but he was only tested once by Grimsby, and that came in the 80th minute.

Mariners substitute Nathan Jarman audaciously tried to beat him with an overhead kick from inside the penalty area, but Schmeichel reacted instinctively and parried it away, diving to his left.

The home side only threatened on two other occasions.

On 15 minutes, they broke through the Magpies defence for the first time and Sweeney strode purposefully towards goal. As he steadied himself to strike at goal, Stephen Hunt made a superbly-timed sliding tackle to stop him shooting from 12 yards.

In the opening stages of the second half, Wes Fletcher outpaced John Thompson to latch onto a through ball inside the penalty area. In a dangerous position, he miscued wide of Schmeichel's right-hand post.

In fairness, the Magpies rarely threatened either, especially in the first half where they were slightly second-best to the home side.

In fact, they only went close to breaking the deadlock in the closing stages, on 41 minutes.

As Notts ended the first half strongly, Ravenhill seized onto the ball in space 25 yards out and instantly aimed for the bottom left corner, but it was deflected narrowly wide of the post.

Other than that, Mariners keeper Nick Colgan made a couple of routine saves from Johnnie Jackson, who got forward at every opportunity from left back.

Bishop almost scored, just five minutes before Hughes struck decisively. When Ben Davies' corner fell to him inside the box, he smashed it towards goal but it was cleared off the goal-line.

Hughes' winning goal on 69 minutes was, once again, a master-class in finishing, as he raced onto a through ball, leaving the Mariners defenders for dead, and drove a right-footed effort low past Colgan and into the net, in front of almost 1,000 Magpies supporters in the away end.

It was the only attractive moment in an ugly game.

Once they were 1-0 ahead, Notts never looked like surrendering their lead. Edwards and Hunt gave towering performances at the heart of the back-four, and Ravenhill and Bishop were once again tirelessly titanic in front of them.

They might even have doubled their lead before the end. Davies was switched to the right wing when Craig Westcarr was replaced by Jamie Clapham, and he cut inside his marker and onto his left foot on 83 minutes, and curled an effort narrowly wide of Colgan's right-hand post.

Clapham went closest to making it 2-0 in the third minute of injury-time when the ball fell to him in space inside the penalty area, but Colgan denied him from close-range.

It was the Magpies' first 1-0 league win of the season, which is significant. The ability to grind out wins in tight games is a hallmark of a promotion-winning side, as much as being able to demolish teams, as they have done time and time again this campaign.

At times on Saturday, the game looked destined to be a draw but Notts managed to snatch a victory that must be one of the most satisfying of the season, albeit their least emphatic.

They will certainly take a 1-0 win at second-placed Bournemouth tomorrow night, that's for sure. It will be an entirely different challenge at Dean Court.

But the Magpies have won there already this season in the FA Cup, and the way they are playing at the moment, with confidence coursing through the team, they will fancy their chances of doing it again, to strengthen their position in the promotion race, at the expense of one of their biggest rivals.