Aiden O'Brien marked his return to the Sunderland line-up with the only goal of the game as the Black Cats made it 12 games unbeaten in all competitions.
Lee Johnson's side ended their winless run against former Newcastle United midfielder Joey Carton by beating the Gas.
O'Brien's volley from Aiden McGeady's corner made it ten games unbeaten for the Black Cats in League One and he celebrated in style. The 27-year-old paid tribute to Lee Johnson's team talk prior to the game.
Speaking to SAFC, O'Brien said: "It wasn't the cleanest of contacts, it was straight off my shin but we'll take that - they all count.
"A little shark on the head [for his celebration]. The gaffer did a team talk before the game and put a slide show on and said before we go out there remember the sharks.
"I want you to act like sharks out there and I want you to be at it and go for your prey.
"I just thought you know what I got the fin on my head so it was all fun."
Sunderland's win means Barton has won just twice from ten games in charge of Rovers and the result left them in the mire.
"It's always going to be tough they're fighting for their lives," said O'Brien. "They've had a few tough results and we knew it was going to be a game.
"We came away with the points so we're buzzing."
Barton's side made life difficult for the Black Cats and their high press forced Sunderland into long balls upfield and made it a physical battle.
"That's what we're about[a physical battle]" said O'Brien. "We're a great team and know how to pass the ball well. We've got some great players but we've also got that nasty side to us now.
"Which is really good at a stage like this - with ten games to go now we're just going to go for it now.
"We're in a great position with two games in hand and I think Hull drew today as well which made it a bit more sweeter at a difficult place - we're at it.
I've just come back from injury and I've been working hard with the physio. It was brilliant to come back into the team - get the three points and score. Delighted."
O'Brien has spent more time on the sidelines than he would've liked this season through injury, but says it's about managing the squad for the remainder of the season with another hectic schedule on the horizon.
The 27-year-old said: "I think it's about listening to the coaching staff and managing it. You're not going to get a lot of training time but the lads that play will get a lot of recovery and the lads that don't play will be out on the training ground.
"It's just about that balance at this time of the season and making sure that every one of us is ready to step over that white line and give our all.
"We're doing that now and hopefully we can start nicking those three points at home and away.
"We're been doing that throughout the season and with ten games left hopefully we can smash them out now and get promoted - that's the aim."
