Blue Square Premier Luton lost a three-goal lead as League Two high-flyers Rochdale salvaged a first-round replay.
The Hatters, losing finalists in 1959, went ahead after four minutes as Steve Basham headed in Adam Newton's cross.
Newton's lob doubled the lead before Basham hit his second after 29 minutes with a curler from the edge of the box.
But after Craig Dawson pulled one back, Joe Thompson smashed home Tom Kennedy's cross with three minutes left and then headed in to keep his side alive.
Luton manager Richard Money told BBC Three Counties Radio:
"Everything you'd expect from the best team in the division above us. They didn't show us anything that we didn't expect. I thought we were great, they were excellent.
"At a football club where there has been so much negativity for such a long period of time, if anyone inside this stadium didn't see progress today then I don't know what we need to do."
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