David Domb hailed his Hyde Park heroes after they booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Peter Morrison Trophy.
Jay Rosenthal and Oli Grant were on target as the Leeds-based students pulled off a stunning 2-1 win at MJSL Division Three side Shirley Park.
Keeper Simon Falk made several stunning saves to keep MJSL top scorers Shirley down to just one and Domb was left thrilled with his side’s showing.
“It was a fantastic victory and it’s just what we needed,” said Domb.
“We needed to show we can play ugly and we dug it out and got the result.
“It’s the best result we’ve had during my time at the club and for a student team to come down to London and get a win is great.
“It was a great team performance and hopefully we can build on that because we still have two other cup competitions we can win.
“We know the league title is out of reach, which is unfortunate, but we can still make it a successful season.”
The visitors took just two minutes to claim a shock lead with Rosenthal smashing home from close-range following an exquisite free-kick by David Cohen.
Gideon Gold headed Shirley level before the break but the home side were unable to find a second with Rovers keeper Falk in sublime form.
Shirley continued to dominate after the interval but with 15 minutes remaining, Rovers caught their hosts napping as Grant ran clear to smash home the winner.
“I’ve never been so happy at the final whistle before,” added Domb.
“It was a great win and it was a very noisy coach trip back up to Leeds after the game.
“We’re going to meet up on Wednesday to celebrate and enjoy this one because the lads deserve it.”