The United captain chased down what appeared to be a lost cause in the final seconds of what had looked like being a frustrating evening for the Reds.
Rooney's hustling and harrying led to Tim Krul's shanked clearance that allowed Ashley Young to strike home the vital winner.
"I have to say that Wayne, how he makes that goal is unbelievable, because it was a lost ball.
"But his fighting spirit is unbelievable" van Gaal told MUTV.
"I have a fantastic group, they have the spirit and, in spite of all the criticism, they want to win and always play good football so I do not understand why there is criticism.
"Today I think you would agree that we played good football."
The Reds carved out a raft of excellent chances but found Krul in inspired form until his untimely error.
At the other end, David de Gea did not have a lot to do but two excellent saves provided a platform for the victory.
"Newcastle is a difficult ground to win at, they won here against Chelsea and Liverpool so I am very pleased.
"It was a narrow escape as our competitors have won also but we have dominated for the 90 minutes and I think it was our best match of the season, especially in an away match.
"We deserved the victory and it is a rat race.
"We created many big chances and could have scored earlier, but they also had two chances and David de Gea rescued us at that time, but we are happy with the result as we deserved it."
Below: United's jubilant players celebrate Ashley Young's late strike that gave us a crucial victory
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