ATHERTON COLLIERIES made it seven games unbeaten with a first ever win over Hyde United.

With new boss Brad Cooke getting married, assistants Chris Lynch and Rob Sadler saw goals from Dannys O'Brien and Lafferty hand them a 2-1 victory over the 10-man visitors to the Skuna Stadium on Saturday.

The game was niggly from the outset with Hyde striker Chris Sharp sent off just six minutes in after an altercation with Gareth Peet on the edge of the Colls box.

This unexpected fillip allowed the black and white stripes to take control of the game and ex-Tigers frontman O’Brien had couple of good chances against his former club.

His first effort went out of the ground but the second was well saved by Sam French in the Hyde goal.

O’Brien’s endeavour eventually paid off on the half hour mark when good approach play left him in acres of space and his shot from about 12 yards out beat French.

The lead was doubled within five minutes of the restart, Vinny Bailey playing in a fine corner which captain Lafferty powerfully headed home.

There was to be no clean sheet for the hosts though as 10 minutes later Brad Roscoe nodded in a teasing set-piece at the far post.

The teams continued to trade blows but clear-cut opportunities were few and far between in the closing stages.

Hyde's main threat came from set pieces but the Colls defenders were in no mood to surrender maximum points and dealt admirably with the formidable aerial challenge.

Tom Bentham almost increased the lead but saw his scuffed effort just kept from crossing the line by a relieved French.

Eventually the home team were content to professionally play out injury time for an excellent win that leaves them 17th in the BetVictor Premier Division.

New loan arrivals from Chester midfielder Cain Noble and forward Iwan Murray were part of the squad, the latter playing the final 10 minutes while the former remained on the bench.

The pair were snapped up by new boss Cooke after key duo Ben Hardcastle and Michael Brewster joined departing manager Michael Clegg at Ashton United.

Hardcastle left for an undisclosed fee, a record figure received by Colls, while Brewster moved on having scored two goals in 12 appearances during a short stint with the club.

Attentions next turn to the FA Trophy, with National League leaders Barrow, the highest ranked team in the competition, the visitors to the Skuna Stadium for Saturday's first round clash.

Elsewhere, Colls' Lancashire Trophy semi-final against Lancaster City will be played at the County Ground in Leyland on Wednesday, February 19.