Rovers were level 10 minutes later when midfield maestro Adam Kay found the net with an excellent finish.
However, the odds looked stacked against them five minutes later when Alex Weiler was dismissed following a professional foul.
But like true champions, Rovers found another gear and a strike 10 minutes from time from Josh Bharier sealed a memorable victory.
Rovers boss Jeremy Brown told JC Sport: "We were so poor in the first half I had to make a couple of changes at half time.
"Being 2-0 down at half-time, I still believed we could win the game. I know it's not easy when you have five players making their debut - it takes time to gel, but we showed so much character in the second half, not only to get it back to 2-2 but finding a winner after we had gone down to 10 men.
"It's a really important win to start off what will be a difficult season with three points. I also thought the referee, Andy Myreson was fantastic, he got everything right."
