Hyde came into the game on the back of two wins in a row after a run of eight games without a win.
Atherton came into it after losing long-serving manager Michael Clegg who was appointed as Ashton United’s new manager.
The game was niggly from the outset and Hyde striker Chris Sharp was in the bath as early as the sixth minute. He was shown the dreaded red following a handbags altercation with Gareth Peet on the edge of the box.
The red card allowed Atherton to take control of the game and ex Tigers frontman Danny O’Brien had a couple of good chances. His initial effort went out of the ground while the second was well saved by Sam French. 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 twelve yards out beat French and put Atherton 1-0 up.
The lead was doubled within five minutes of the restart. A Vinny Bailey corner was met by Atherton skipper Danny Lafferty who headed home. Ten minutes later Hyde pulled a goal back to set up an interesting as Brad Roscoe nodded in a very teasing set-piece at the far post.
Hyde continued to try and get a goal through set pieces, but the Atherton defence stayed strong and saw the game out leaving Hyde with their first defeat in three games. Hyde stay 10th after the defeat.
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