Notts County 2 Walsall 1

Walsall slipped to their second defeat on the bounce as Lee Hughes was again the scourge of the Saddlers.

Andy Butler equalised the ex-Albion striker's first-half opener before Cristian Montano's cool finish won it for the hosts.

Manny Smith's header was cleared off the line late on as the Saddlers chased a leveller which never came.

Claude Gnakpa replaced Alex Nicholls as Will Grigg returned to the bench after international duty with the Northern Ireland under-21 team.

Jimmy Walker was missing for personal reasons, meaning there was no substitute goalkeeper on the bench.

And the Saddlers almost fell behind after just two minutes, when Montano wriggled free and smacked the post with goalkeeper David Grof helpless.

Lee Hughes then headed Alan Judge's free kick wide after escaping the Saddlers' attentions.

Sandwiched between the chances Nicholls replaced the injured Gnakpa – a change which only stunted the visitors' progress further.

Muted, Walsall offered little attacking threat and Kevan Hurst's 20-yard effort which curled harmlessly over on 20 minutes was the sum total of their efforts.

County, meanwhile, had shaken off any fears of lethargy following their showpiece friendly with Juventus on Thursday and Lee Hughes volleyed wide from Julian Kelly's cross.

The former Albion ace was a constant threat to the Saddlers and came close again on 34 minutes.

Jeff Hughes' through ball found Montano, who out-paced Darryl Westlake and was denied by Grof and, when the ball ran loose, Butler stopped Lee Hughes netting a simple tap in.

But, on 38 minutes, County finally took the lead when Lee Hughes controlled Judge's right wing cross, swivelled, and found the top corner from 16 yards.

It was all the hosts deserved for their dominance and the ex-Baggie glanced Alan Sheehan's free kick wide in first-half injury time.

County continued to control the game immediately after the break, content to wait for the gaps to appear in front of them.

But they failed to create as much as Walsall closed ranks and slowly grew in confidence.

Jon Macken, starved of decent service, forced underworked goalkeeper Stuart Nelson to palm a volley away and on 61 minutes Walsall equalised.

Krystian Pearce brought down Adam Chambers following Nelson's poor throw and, when Richard Taundry curled in the free kick, Butler stooped to crash a header into the bottom corner.

But the Saddlers were level for just four minutes as Westlake was outmuscled by Montano and the striker drilled in across ex-County goalkeeper Grof from 12 yards.

Walsall's response was to thrown on Grigg for the ineffective Ryan Jarvis, but they still failed to create from open play.

The best chance came with 11 minutes left when Smith's header from Chambers' free kick was cleared under his own crossbar by Pearce.

And, deep into stoppage time, Macken blazed over after Nelson flapped at Chambers' cross.