Rovers stuck to Appleton's game plan and in the end won through against an Arsenal side that were again boo'd off the pitch by fans who just can't believe that so called lesser clubs are beginning to beat them on a regular basis.
Colin Kazim-Richards was the man who got the all important goal and it came just as Arsenal had sent on the big stars to get this game tied up and book a place in the quarter finals.
Travelling Rovers fans who were brilliant throughout the game were rewarded for their faith with witnessing what will go down as one of the shocks of this season's FA Cup competition.
But there was nobody more delighted after the final whistle than the Rovers manager who praised his side for their efforts.
"I have said it for a while but it is about hard work, organisation and team effort. I thought the lads were fantastic,” he told Sky Sports.
"We will enjoy that and then focus on Hull City in the league on Tuesday night. Matches like that have to be great for the confidence.
"The fans were great and I'm sure they will have a good night. To come to Arsenal and get through a cup tie is one thing, but to keep a clean sheet and defend as well as we did is another, and that is testament to our players. We have two man-mountains in the centre of defence," he said.
"We had a feeling they might rest a few of their players because they have a big game on Tuesday in the Champions League.
"However, regardless of what side they were going to put out, we knew we would concede a lot of possession at times, but we are happy with that.
"We have a mentality now where we are hard to beat, and are resilient. It has been almost getting into the heads of the players to take pride in keeping clean sheets and enjoy defending, which people do not like doing at times, we also have a bit of quality as well."
