Well, there are limits. If they absolutely require some background in support of a given product, there is not much you can do. In my case, I found out later they were trying to fill the job for a couple months and my background with supporting other products in a similar environment, coupled with my personality/attitude made me a good fit.

In your case either the silver-tongued devil had that experience you lacked, or the image he conveyed was more what they wanted. So in that sense, your comportment during the interview was obviously important. Now my interviewers were not trying to be harsh or put me on the spot (although having to get through military security to get to the interview was intimidating in its own right), so I can't claim to have overcome that obstacle. But being in this field for 13 years and knowing that I am good at what I do also makes a difference. I can carry myself confidently.

I even managed to get an offer for a different job that was totally out of my scope (I have done mostly Windows Server stuff with some network admin and voice com; they needed Unix/InfoSec) by studying up on the technologies, telling them that I was new to the material, and thereby telling them that I could take initiative. If it hadn't been night shift, it would have been a great experience...