Ten-man Fulham fought from two goals down in their FA Youth Cup Semi-Final first leg to earn a 2-2 draw against Reading.
Strikes from Robert Dickie and Tariqe Fosu put the Royals youngsters in front with little more than half an hour played.
Emerson Hyndman pulled one back with 30 minutes remaining before Patrick Roberts levelled matters to take a draw back to Craven Cottage.
Reading 2-2 Fulham
The FA Youth Cup
Semi-Final First Leg
Tuesday 1 April 2014
Madejski Stadium, Reading
A lightning start to the game saw Reading take the lead after 20 minutes through Dickie's powerful header.
They quickly doubled their lead with Fosu's penalty after Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak was sent off for bringing down Jack Stacey.
Stacey beat the offside trap and went around Rodak but hit the ground under contact from the Slovakian goalkeeper. The referee had little choice but to send off the 17-year-old who prevented a goalscoring opportunity.
Dean O'Halloran was sacrificed for substitute goalkeeper Magnus Norman, but Fosu duly slotted home from 12 yards out.
Fulham survived the rest of the half unscathed but looked out of the contest when they headed in for the break.
This was a first appearance in The FA Youth Cup Semi-Finals for both teams and Reading dominated their west London opponents.
But remarkably, the Cottagers rallied in the second half and grabbed a goal back on 61 minutes through Hyndman, who also netted from the penalty spot.
Patrick Roberts was tripped by Reading defender Dominic Hyam and Hyndman was able to provide Fulham with a lifeline.
Robert Dicke opened the scoring for Reading
The home side had chances to kill the game off throughout the second half but failed to make them count.
And with 15 minutes left Fulham levelled through England U17s forward Roberts, who drilled home to seal a fantastic turnaround.
Ryan Williams played a cute pass through to Jordan Evans whose blocked shot fell to Roberts, and the Fulham starlet composed himself to slot past Lewis Ward.
Last month Roberts made his Premier League debut after impressing first-team boss Felix Magath. He has now given his club every chance of making their first FA Youth Cup Final.
Fulham left the Madejski Stadium elated after stifling Reading's pressure in the closing phases.
The two sides return for the second leg at Craven Cottage next week in front of the ITV4 cameras with the tie wide open.
