Notts County, desperate for a win after four draws and a defeat, just about deserved to edge past League newcomers Dagenham and Redbridge who defended stoutly but offered little up front.
The first 45 minutes were featureless and deserved the chorus of booing which greeted the half-time whistle.
Penalty area incident was at a premium and Notts had the best of the few chances created.
It fell to Jason Lee, last season's leading scorer but this time still looking for his first goal, but Daggers keeper Tony Roberts denied him by scrambling a header round the upright.
Dagenham had seemed overawed in the early stages but finished the first half the stronger and more impressive of the two sides while continuing to lack a punch.
Notts raised the tempo at the beginning of the second period and had the visitors defence under assault but they simply refused to buckle and were indebted to a goal-line clearance on the one occasion that Roberts seemed to be beaten.
Notts manager Steve Thompson had caused a surprise at kick off by leaving out cultured midfielder Neil MacKenzie whom he did not summon from the bench until the 73rd minute when he replaced Richard Butcher.
Exactly 10 minutes later MacKenzie produced the strike that led to Notts gaining three points and condemning the Daggers to three away League defeats without scoring.Lee Canoville and Gary Silk were involved in the build-up play and a half-hearted clearance to their move fell invitingly to MacKenzie on the edge of the penalty area and he drilled it inside Roberts' left-hand upright. It was MacKenzie's second goal of the season but his first at Meadow Lane.
It brought relief all round the stadium and perhaps to nobody more than Thompson, who has been under fire from fans and was not given a 100% vote of confidence by new Board Chairman John Armstrong-Holmes when he took over a few days ago.
Thompson, it seems, can now look forward to Rotherham next Saturday.