It was a case of "after the Lord Mayor's Show" for Rovers, who three days earlier received plaudits aplenty for their shock 1-0 Championship opening-day success at Derby – just a short hop along the A52 from Meadow Lane.

County fully deserved their cup triumph, something O'Driscoll acknowledged on a night when Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, Charlton, Plymouth, Blackpool and Norwich also perished against lower-league opposition.

The decisive moment arrived in the 106th minute when Myles Weston expertly fired home just seconds after the start of the second period of extra-time as the hosts prevailed 1-0.

O'Driscoll – who made five changes from the victory at Pride Park, although a host of established first-teamers such as Neil Sullivan, Richie Wellens, Gareth Roberts and James Hayter did start, said: "You have got to give County some credit.

"They changed the way they played and got everybody behind the ball and it was back to the old question of whether we could break them down.

"You can get frustrated trying to do it – especially if it is not quite your night and it doesn't quite come off.

"It's difficult if you get a team that is playing at home and one that gets more confident the longer the game goes on.

"In a bizarre way we did quite well to keep the score at 0-0 for as long as we did because we weren't playing well enough to forge our way in front.

"I could have ranted and raved in the dressing room, but the players wanted answers and there were no answers.

"It is part and parcel of football and you've got to take it on the chin.

"Nobody is looking for excuses, but we didn't play well enough to win. Everybody is culpable – the staff as well as the players.

"Now we'll regroup and carry on. There is nothing else that we can do.

"We've not gone out and deliberately played poorly – I thought there was a lot of effort. I don't think we can criticise their attitude or determination.

"But we lacked a bit of know-how and a little bit of confidence and that can disappear as quickly as it comes.

"We prepared exactly the same as we did on Saturday at Derby, although we made changes.

"We need a strong squad in the Championship so the game was an opportunity for people to come in and get some action under their belt."

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