Imagine where Fulham would be if they could see off the strugglers. They averted a rare defeat when Raúl ­Jiménez converted his second penalty of the afternoon at the start of added time but never did enough to overcome a well-drilled Ipswich.

At times it was reminiscent of the draw here a fortnight ago with Southampton and, while nobody in this part of west London could cavil at a run of one defeat in 12 games, a dash more cutting edge would surely see them in fairytale territory by now.

Related: ‘Not at Premier League level’: Fulham’s Silva blasts referee after Ipswich draw

Jiménez picked himself up to score confidently after twisting Leif Davis inside out and coaxing the Ipswich left-back into a foul next to the byline. The gut punch for Kieran McKenna’s team was that, seconds previously, their substitute Jack Clarke had been a post’s width from ­guaranteeing them the points. They could nonetheless return to Suffolk feeling consoled: the next four months will undoubtedly be rocky but they look resilient and do not carry themselves as if destined for a return to the Championship.

For Fulham there was the ­frustration that, for all their near three-quarter share of possession, clear chances were few and far between. Much of their annoyance was directed at the ­referee, Darren Bond, for his handling of some ­borderline calls but in truth there was little to bristle about once the dust had settled. The Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton was only called upon to make two ­significant saves and that was a bigger factor than any officiating gripes.

Fulham’s main point of contention was that Davis should have been sent off shortly before the half-hour after crudely checking Harry Wilson’s dart towards goal. He was booked and perhaps the fact Wilson was still 40 yards from the posts, coupled with the proximity of at least one covering defender, swayed the decision. That seemed fair enough, although Marco Silva was still in Bond’s ear as the teams re-emerged after half-time.

By then Ipswich had taken the lead with their first serious opportunity. Liam Delap, outstanding once again and seemingly growing in stature by the week, held the ball up in the left channel and began a move that culminated in a Nathan Broadhead cross to the far post. It was contested by Antonee Robinson and Ben ­Johnson, popping off the former’s head and ­hitting the bar. There was still ample o­pportunity for Calvin Bassey to clear but he fluffed his lines, teeing ­Sammie Szmodics up for a blast that went in via the home defender’s attempt at redemption.

Silva felt Fulham had lost “emotional control” after Davis’s reprieve. But they had only come close once when on a more even keel, Jiménez drawing a good parry from ­Walton when he should perhaps have scored. Their next clear chance did not arise until the 63rd minute when Emile Smith Rowe, introduced at the ­interval for the redundant third centre-half Issa Diop, connected with Alex Iwobi’s clipped ball but could only skid his header wide.

From there, proceedings finally caught light. Ipswich had been ­managing any Fulham threat well and looked dangerous when emboldened to commit players forward. When one such occasion saw Delap cushion a long pass into Broadhead’s path, Bernd Leno reacted brilliantly to tip the subsequent snap-shot wide.

Not for the last time, Ipswich were left to rue the near miss. When another sparkling Wilson run ended in a tumble under Sam Morsy’s challenge, Bond kept his whistle in his pocket. The Ipswich captain bore the sheepish look of a man who sensed what was coming, though, and VAR quickly spotted he had clipped ­Wilson’s knee. It was an unnecessary challenge and Jiménez, beating Walton coolly, emphasised the point. Silva could not prevent himself afterwards from expressing disbelief that recourse to video technology had been required.

However it had come about, this seemed a platform for ­Fulham. They were waved back to the halfway line by staff but, 21 seconds after the resumption, gave themselves another mountain to climb. This time Bond did not hesitate when Delap twisted inside Timothy Castagne and hit the floor; there was enough contact to merit a spot-kick and Delap, brimming with confidence after destroying Chelsea on Monday, did the rest.

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Silva threw on the kitchen sink in Adama Traoré form but, had Clarke not fired low against the upright from 20 yards after good work from Davis, Fulham’s endeavours would have gone out of the window. Moments later Davis felled Jiménez, who was going nowhere particularly fast, and renewed parity set the stage for a frantic closing sequence in which Walton denied Rodrigo Muniz and Wilson nearly punished a dicey Jack Taylor back-pass.

Another few minutes and Fulham, thwarted late on by Bournemouth last time out, might have completed the turnaround. But Ipswich were worth their point and the quandary for both teams centres on how to more regularly obtain all three.