Leicester manager Nigel Pearson was a happy man after watching his side hammer Derby 4-1 in their Championship clash at the King Power Stadium.
Zak Whitbread and Martyn Waghorn put the Foxes 2-0 up before Theo Robinson replied, but David Nugent then came off the bench to score twice and secure a victory that lifts Leicester back up to third in the table.
"It was an outstanding start to the game for us. I think that's the best we've played," said Pearson.
"We totally dominated and to get two goals in that period was fully deserved.
"I was a bit disappointed that we were only one goal ahead at half-time, but I think we kept our composure well in the second half."
Pearson also singled out Waghorn, adding: "Over the last two or three weeks he's put in some very good performances for us.
"He's certainly contributed in a very positive manner and I think scoring his first goal, when we beat Ipswich, took a bit of pressure off him."
Adam McGurk netted the winner for Rovers 12 minutes into the second half after Cole Stockton had cancelled out Liam Cooper's opener for the visitors.
"We are disappointed as we missed out on a chance to get extra revenue for the club and get a big tie in the next round," Cook said.
"It hurts but the defeat gives us a chance to concentrate on the league and we need to improve our mentality now. We want to try and achieve promotion and we have 26 cup finals to play before we can achieve that.
"Competition for places is good but we have a long way to go and we know what we want to do from here on in.
"Tranmere played good football in a good spirit and they were very competitive but we gave bad goals away. The lads who made mistakes will certainly learn from them. It probably wasn't Tranmere's best performance of the season but good teams find a way to win and we wish them luck in the next round."
Moore swooped for O'Halloran on loan deadline day and, after featuring for 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Stevenage last weekend, his class shone through against the League Two Spireites on Saturday.
And Moore, while counting the cost of an injury to his skipper James Wallace early in the first half, could not get enough of O'Halloran, who has signed a deal at Prenton Park until January.
"It was a scrappy old first half and the goal we conceded arose from a catalogue of errors - it was awful," said Moore. "But in the second half we got a bit of tempo going and Michael has made a big difference for us.
"He made a great run to help create our second goal and he didn't stop all day. It was a workmanlike FA Cup tie and we probably just about shaded it. We were holding on a bit at the end and it shouldn't have come to that really. I will watch the third-round draw on the television and it can be so nerve-wracking it's ridiculous."
Moore added: "The injury to James is a bad one for us. It is too early to say what it is but it certainly puts a dampener on the result. Hopefully he will be out for weeks rather than months but we just don't know at the moment."
Bournemouth extended Howe's unbeaten run since his return to the club to 11 games as they saw off a late recovery by Carlisle to complete a double, having beaten the Cumbrians 4-2 in a league visit a month earlier.
First-half goals from Wes Fogden and Eunan O'Kane set up the win for Bournemouth on Saturday and although Mark Beck's header gave Carlisle some hope, the outstanding Marc Pugh clinched it for the south-coast men in time added on.
Howe said: "It's important for us to get in the draw for our supporters. All credit to the players to come to a difficult place and respond brilliantly to the challenge.
"We controlled the game and played well from back to front. I don't remember Carlisle having that many chances and from our point of view the only negative was the goal because otherwise it was a really good performance."
The Cherries boss added: "There was always a chance it would be dicey towards the end, but we remained in full control and saw it out professionally with the third goal the icing on the cake. Two or three of them took their chance here. We'll try and beat whoever we draw in the next round and I just want us to go as far as we can."
The visitors saw off a late recovery by Carlisle to complete a double over them, having beaten the Cumbrians 4-2 in a league visit a month earlier.
First-half goals from Wes Fogden and Eunan O'Kane set up the win for Bournemouth and although Mark Beck's header gave Carlisle some hope, the outstanding Marc Pugh clinched it for the south-coast men in time added on.
"I'm frustrated, but the simple fact is they had better players than us and we could not bridge the gap," Abbott said.
"The first goal was a joke goal and we are not getting the breaks at the moment. We need our key players back and to get back our belief. But no-one is going to give me a Ronaldo or a Messi and it means we have to work harder."
Once again Carlisle looked defensively fragile at home. They have won just twice for their own fans and Abbott added: "Every goal stems from someone not doing their job properly."
