After 120 nervy minutes in which the home side had the better of things in front of a bumper crowd of 2,700, the Poppies were tied at 0-0 with near neighbours the Bees, and that meant the dreaded spot-kicks to determine the winner.
It was high pressure, and the players clearly felt it…
Both sides missed their opening efforts, with the Poppies actually missing their first two through Jonny Edwards and Andi Thanoj.
Thanks to a Dan Jezeph save and Paul Malone rattling the crossbar for the visitors, it was all square at 3-3 after five kicks each.
That meant suddent death, and after a miss by former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Sandro, Sam McLintock had the chance to win it - but he was denied by Bees stopper Elliott Taylor. Another miss from Bees skipper Connor Kennedy once again opened the door for the Poppies, and this time skipper and man of the match Connor Johnson made no mistake to win the shootout 4-3 for a relieved Poppies.
It means Kettering will take on Kevin Wilkin's AFC Telford at Latimer Park on Bank Holiday Monday (ko 3pm), with promotion to the Vanarama National League North the huge prize on offer.
Telford were 3-2 winners over Halesowen in their semi-final, in front of a crowd of 3,200 at the New Bucks Head Stadium.
Here is a picture special from photographer Peter Short who captured all the drama and emotion from Wednesday’s semi-final win.
1. Calm before the storm...
The Poppies players line up ahead of the penalty shootout against Harborough (Picture: Peter Short) Photo: Peter Short
2. Dan the man...
Dan Jezeph makes one of his crucial penalty saves in front of a packed Latimer Park (Picture: Peter Short) Photo: Peter Short
3. Get in there...
Kettering goalkeeper Dan Jezeph celebrates after making a penalty save in the shootout (Picture: Peter Short) Photo: Peter Short
4. That winning feeling...
The Poppies players rush to celebrate after their play-off semi-final shootout win against Harborough (Picture: Peter Short) Photo: Peter Short