Martin O’Neill enthused about Nathan Delfouneso after the teenager striker helped to steer Aston Villa into the FA Cup fifth round last night.

Delfouneso’s 61st minute strike sealed a 3-1 victory over Doncaster after goals from Steve Sidwell and John Carew for Villa and Jason Price for Rovers.

It was the Bodymoor Heath academy product’s third goal in four senior starts and ensured Villa clinched a trip to Goodison Park to face Everton a week on Sunday.

“I’m absolutely delighted with Delfouneso,” said O’Neill. “He gave away the ball for their goal, but outside that I thought he was exceptional.

“For one so young, he is a really, really good player in the making.”

O’Neill was relieved to see his side progress last night’s after a goalless draw at the Keepmoat Stadium.

The Villa manager rested several of his first-teamers, including Gareth Barry and Gabriel Agbonlahor, while Stiliyan Petrov was suspended.

However, Carew made a goalscoring return to the starting line-up after a three-month absence, while Ashley Young was back in after his three-game ban.

“We made some changes in the team because it’s really important to see what we’re capable of doing,” said O’Neill. “We can’t afford to carry anybody in the team, we just haven’t got the ability to carry people, so everybody has to step up.

“John Carew got through 90 minutes which is great news for all of us.

“I love the FA Cup and I’m delighted we’re in the fifth round. But if the Premier League is the Holy Grail, I suppose we have to be chasing that.”

Rovers manager Sean O’Driscoll has acknowledged all along that the FA Cup was a bonus and that Championship survival was his team’s top priority.

Nevertheless, O’Driscoll was impressed by the performances his side put in during the two ties.

“We are another team that maybe couldn’t quite cope with Villa’s set-plays and counter-attacking, so there’s no disgrace in that,” he said.

“What happens in both boxes determines what happens in games, so we’ve got to be better in both, but I thought our general play was excellent.

“The goals we gave away were not good ones for us, and the chances we’ve created have got to be better. If we could solve that in one go we wouldn’t be in the Championship.

“Unfortunately, because of the way football is, the Cup is a distraction. It’s a distraction for Martin, and it’s a distraction for me as I’ve got a massive job on trying to stay in the Championship.

“If I’d asked my players who doesn’t want to play because Saturday is more important, I don’t think I would have got too many volunteers,” added O’Driscoll.