The Kettering fans went home reeling from two goals in the last four minutes from Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora which denied the non-league side a slice of history.
But the FA Cup was rocking down Rockingham Road on an afternoon as dramatic as football gets.
Kettering were as brave as they were brilliant. They made a mockery of the 92 places which separate the clubs in football's hierarchy.
And for great swathes of this match they played the better football with two goals from Craig Westcarr which will live long in East Midlands folklore.
This was an authentic FA Cup occasion. A throwback to football's old values. The temporary stand creaked in anticipation.
The Kettering supporters delighted in their chants of "Who are ya", as Fulham captain Aaron Hughes urged on his side on a pitch which was full of the bumps and bobbles which make days like this so unpredictable.
Television might have snubbed the chance of seeing history in the making but the 5,406 who shoehorned their way into Rockingham Road were determined to have a party come what may.
They know about history at Kettering, all 110 years of it. More than a century which has seen big names such as Ron Atkinson, Derek Dougan and Paul Gascoigne pass through, even if it was only 39 days in the case of the latter.
Today they have a Muslim chairman in Imraan Ladak, who has added the word 'Palestine' on the players' shirts to promote a charity he likes to support.
And they have a center-back with the improbable name of Exodus Geohaghon. The Biblical connections could not be ignored.
And delivering the miracle of a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup did not look so fanciful after a first half in which Kettering matched the class of their Premier League opposition with huge industry of their own.
Even so they went behind after 12 minutes and even the Kettering faithful had to applaud.
A whipped-in cross from Clint Dempsey on the right was met by Simon Davies whose right-foot volley lasered its way into the net of Kettering goalkeeper Lee Harper.
The dream looked likely to end almost before it had begun as Fulham settled to their task.
But the cup brings the best out of footballers, especially grass-roots footballers.
And while Fulham sauntered about in midfield, missing the bite of Jimmy Bullard following his transfer to Hull, Kettering began to grow in confidence.
The long throw of Geoghaghon was a constant menace but it was Westcarr's raiding on the right which was causing most problems.
And it was Westcarr who deservedly brought Kettering level in the 34th minute after his stirring run had been halted just outside the penalty box by the size 10s of Hughes.
Westcarr lined up the free-kick himself on the angle of the area and promptly sent his shot flying into Schwarzer's net, albeit via a slight deflection off the wall on the way in.
The Kettering players hugged wildly. The stands went stark, raving bonkers. The dream was back on.
Kettering's Richard Graham then went into referee Mike Riley's notebook for what was adjudged to be a dive, although it appeared a large chunk of the East Midlands believed it was a stonewall penalty.
But Kettering had been given something to hang on to and they did so with the jaw-like grip of a bull terrier.
But then came a cruel blow for the non-league side. A speculative shot from Danny Murphy from outside the box took a wicked deflection off Geohaghon after 76 minutes and ended up flying past goalkeeper Harper.
The drama, however, was not over. Five minutes later Westcarr was brought down inside the box by Hangeland and referee Riley pointed to the spot.
Westcarr promptly slid the spot kick home for a deserved equalizer.
Even then there was more drama when first Johnson and then Bobby Zamora scored late goals to send Fulham through.
It was so cruel on Kettering.
