Knowing the championship was theirs if they avoided defeat at Apex Reserve, the Greens came from behind twice to lead 3-2 late in the first half before a penalty laced with controversy levelled things up in stoppage-time.

Roar still needed another goal to keep their hopes alive and they duly got it when the outstanding Anthony Corso's cross was diverted into his own net by Kris Wheeler.

Cobram are now just a point behind United, who have the bye next weekend, so Roar will need to beat Twin City at Kelly Park to force a final-day showdown.

The Greens face a tricky assignment away to Myrtleford in round 22, while Cobram play lowly Wodonga Diamonds.

Third-placed Wangaratta are not out of the equation, either, after their 4-1 win over Melrose moved them to within three points of top spot.

"We're as happy as a pig in poo," Cobram coach Vince Iannucci said.

"It's up to them now to go to Myrtleford and get a result.

"Do you want to be not playing a week before you go to Myrtleford? I don't know.

"After all's said and done, I love beating all sides but it garners good interest.

"Any one of the three teams at the top can win it and that's good for the comp."

United went into the game without suspended captain Caleb Martin but they missed injured left-back Sam Mason even more as right-winger Corso tormented them time and again.

Corso was allowed to run unchallenged into the box in the ninth minute and when his shot came back off the post, regular Roar goalkeeper Tarkyn Hyde, playing in midfield, slammed the loose ball high into the net.

However, the visitors were gifted an equaliser when Roar left-back Ben Zito played the ball straight to Melkie Woldemichael, who obliged with a cool finish.

Back came the irrepressible Corso, wriggling away from three defenders in a crowded penalty area and slotting Cobram back in front.

Aidan Rees crossed for Ramesh Basnet to level two minutes later, though, and Basnet popped up again to convert Sam Brosolo's through-ball to give United the lead for the first time.

But the moment of the match arrived in first-half stoppage-time.

Referee Simon Randall booked Seb Dalitz for holding his man at a corner and awarded a penalty which ended up being taken three times.

Twice Bill Puckett put the ball to Jay Barker's left, twice Barker saved to deny the Englishman, twice the assistant referee ruled Barker had moved off his line.

Hyde stepped up third time around and scored to send Cobram in level.

Wheeler's moment of misfortune handed Cobram their third lead of the afternoon, three minutes into the second half, after Corso had surged away from two defenders and drilled a low cross into the six-yard box.

Woldemichael should have scored from a Rees cross at the other end although United were relieved to see Spiros Vourgaslis miss the target with two free headers.

Corso pounced on a defensive mix-up and looked certain to make it 5-3 only for his low shot to roll wide.

With time running out for United to clinch the title, Woldemichael set up Rees but his shot lacked any power and the Greens then had loud shouts for a penalty waved away after Rees ended up on his backside.

In a game of such drama, one final twist was never out of the question and it so nearly came when Basnet's free-kick in the 95^th minute hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced down on the goal line, with the men in green and white unable to force it home.

United coach Matt Campbell was left to reflect on the impact of the officials' big decisions.

"It's not the players that have decided the game," he said.

"Both sides were having a good crack and in the end, it's something else that's deciding it.

"That's the frustrating thing; we both went hard at it and had a good, honest contest and you take the defeat but it's hard to ignore that sort of thing.

"We're approaching 100 times we've been together.

"We've trained nearly 70 times and played 20-odd games so all these do-gooders who say 'you have to put up with some of this, it's an amateur comp,' yeah, it's amateur, but people put a massive amount of their lives into playing and getting into the first-grade teams and having the chance to win something.

"Wang and Myrtleford and the other boys, you speak to any of the coaches of the top-eight teams and even the ones below that... Josh O'Farrell when we beat St Pats in the night game, he was annoyed, and I get that.

"To be putting all that time and effort in and then for other things to be influencing the outcome, that's what kicks you in the guts.

"The boys had settled reasonably well late in the first half and the penalty is one of those where everyone in the ground was scratching their head.

"All of the players in the box, the Cobram players are looking around, wondering what's happened there and you don't want that.

"If it's a penalty, you want 99 percent of people at the ground to go 'that's a pen.'

"But the boys pushed hard late, we adjusted things in the last 10 minutes and had two or three good chances.

"I love that group of players, they've got that mentality where we're never done."

Even Iannucci admitted the retaken penalty was very harsh on United.

"It was great for us but it left a little bit of a sour taste in the mouth," he said.

"If it was against us, I'd be pretty unhappy about it, but the referees are calling it, not me.

"I thought the game changed when young Tommy Corso went into the middle and provided that extra barrier.

"He runs his guts out, that kid is amazing.

"As for Anthony Corso, they couldn't stop him, they had no answer to him.

"That's the best game I've seen him play, he was just on and it came at a good time."

Elsewhere on Sunday, Boomers returned to action with a 4-1 win over St Pats and Myrtleford went down 3-1 to Albury Hotspurs while Albury City thrashed Wodonga Diamonds 6-1.

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