Macclesfield Town once again proved to be Notts County's bogey team by achieving a narrow but well deserved win.
A turning point in the contest came early in the second half when Notts, who had created few scoring opportunities, laid on a chance for in-form striker Lawrie Dudfield.
His rising shot was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Macc goalkeeper Tommy Lee and it was undoubtedly the save of the match.
Within minutes Macclesfield had snatched the lead when the Notts defence failed to clear their lines properly following a corner.
The ball landed at the feet of Francis Green, who gave goalkeeper Kevin Pilkington no hope of saving as he lashed the ball into the roof of the net from close range.
Green, born a few yards from the Meadow Lane Stadium, was overjoyed to have found the net.
Macclesfield's confidence improved and they had the better chances to put the game beyond County's reach.
First substitute Gareth Evans shot into the sidenetting and then lively midfielder Danny Thomas let Notts off the hook by shooting over the bar after darting past Lee Canoville.
Notts became increasingly desperate for a goal that would save a point and extend their unbeaten run to five in all competitions.
The nearest they came was right at the end when Paul Mayo surged into the six-yard box, but the brave Lee dived at his feet for a courageous piece of goalkeeping.
Not until those late stages did Notts produce anything like the right tempo and Macclesfield deserved credit for the way in which they allowed Notts so few real chances, despite three second-half substitutions by manager Ian McParland.