A minute after Samuel Klein had spurned a chance in front of goal, left back Kasey Bos caught the Roar defence napping in the 97th minute.
Victory, fifth on the A-League Men ladder coming into Saturday's clash, had a golden opportunity against the cellar-dwellers to join Western United and Adelaide United on 32 points in equal second position with a win, but were outplayed by the hosts.
Victory coach Arthur Diles admitted his team were off their game but showed resilience.
"You have got to fight to the very end. You get a goal and you get rewarded for that fight," he said.
"We weren't at our best and still got something out of it and that's important. (Bos) showed the desire that he had and the belief."
The Roar's winless streak at their spiritual home stretches back to March 3 last year when they beat Victory 3-2.
Saturday's draw was their first point at home since then after nine losses.
"The boys, players and staff are very disappointed," Roar coach Ruben Zadkovich said.
"It hurts to concede a goal like that in the 97th minute. The performance was really positive and we have to use that as a positive step in the right direction."
Winger Henry Hore scored his third ALM goal in five games with a strike of panache that appeared to have won the match for the hosts.
In the 20th minute Hore cut inside from the left with a couple of stepovers bamboozling Brendan Hamill before letting rip with his right to beat goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak at the near post.
Roar forwards Nathan Amanatidis and Asumah Abubakar created havoc in attack but could not find the net.
Amanatidis had three chances inside 15 minutes, the third expertly saved off the line by defender Joshua Rawlins.
Ghana-born forward Abubakar, most recently signed to Grasshoppers in the Swiss Super League, had the Roar faithful on their feet in his first game as a starter.
He ran himself ragged in a stellar first half before being replaced by Ben Halloran, who had a goal ruled out just after the break for being narrowly offside.
Amanatidis burst through the middle of the Victory defence in the 50th minute but again failed to finish, injuring a hamstring in the process and limping from the pitch.
Victory midfielder Jordi Valadon went close to his first ALM goal when he hit the post in the sixth minute, but the visitors could not get into any attacking groove.
The Roar made several changes to the side that lost 3-1 to Newcastle, with goalkeeper Matthew Acton coming in for regular goalie Macklin Freke. Acton did well to save a Ryan Teague thunderbolt on the cusp of halftime.
Bos was the hero at the end as Victory never gave up.
Roar stalwart Jack Hingert came off the bench for his 300th match for the club in all competitions.
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