Blackburn Rovers boss Paul Lambert paid tribute to his team after they overcame adversity to progress in The Emirates FA Cup at Newport County.
The Championship side had to play for more than 80 minutes of the match with ten men, following the sending off of striker Chris Brown in the early stages.
But an early penalty from Ben Marshall and a second-half header from Jordan Rhodes, either side of a fine goal from County skipper Mark Byrne, was enough to secure a 2-1 win and a fourth round trip to Oxford United.
Newport County 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
The Emirates FA Cup
Third Round Proper
Monday 18 January 2016
Rodney Parade, Newport
Live on S4C
Winners receive £67,500 from prize fund
"There was only one team in it and I thought the effort and commitment was outstanding," said Lambert.
"We lost [Matt] Kilgallon to a sickness bug just before the game, and then we lose [Lee] Williamson to injury in the warm-up.
"Then after taking the lead we lose Chris Brown. I thought the referee was quite quick to get his card out, but I need to see it again.
"75 minutes is a long time to play with ten men, especially on a pitch that is not in the greatest of conditions. That made for a difficult game.
"But I thought we deserved to win it, the ten men were outstanding.
"I thought we had a lot of the ball in the second half and with ten men, we dominated, which is a big compliment to them."
Lambert wanted to come away from Rodney Parade with Rovers’ name confirmed in the next round and avoiding a replay at Ewood Park.
Jordan Rhodes heads home Blackburn's winner in their third round tie at Newport County
And that was shown in their second-half performance with top scorer Rhodes introduced from the bench at the break.
"We changed it at half time and went two up top and I thought we were fantastic, I really did," added the former Aston Villa and Wycombe Wanderers boss.
"That threw them a bit and I thought there was only one team that was going to win it in the second half and that was ourselves.
"We could have easily sat with 4-4-1 but we put another striker in there and it is a fantastic winning goal.
"It was a terrific cross from Tom [Lawrence] and he [Rhodes] makes a brilliant run across the face and everybody knows that is Jordan's trait in the penalty box so I'm delighted with him.
"It is the second time that we've been down here in less than a fortnight and our supporters were fantastic coming down that distance to watch us."
