St Mirren inflicted a first defeat of the season on Livingston as ten men Saints earned a deserved three points at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
A Craig Halkett own goal got the Buddies off to a flying start before the Livi skipper equalised a little over five minutes later.
Saints were reduced to 10 men for a second week in a row when Gary Irvine received his marching order for a late tackle on Dale Carrick.
But a second half double from Gavin Reilly was enough to see the Buddies make it two wins from the first three league matches and end Livingston's 17 match unbeaten record.
Saints started the match well with Lewis Morgan testing Neil Alexander with only two minutes on the clock, stinging the palms of the goalkeeper with a fierce effort just inside the box.
The good start would soon pay dividends as St Mirren went ahead on 10 minutes. It all came from the effort of captain Stephen McGinn who picked the ball up in midfield and drove forward before attempting to clip the ball in to the middle for one of the oncoming Saints players. It came off Halkett's outstretched leg before looping over Alexander to send the visitors into an early lead.
The Buddies were value for their lead after the way they had started the match and could have doubled their advantage after Morgan slipped in Gavin Reilly a few minutes later. The striker had Cammy Smith in the box as support but went it alone drilling the ball mere inches by the far post.
Saints were on top but the home side could have been level on 15 minutes when Scott Pittman rose to meet Rafaelle De Vita's cross. The midfielder powered the header goalward only to be denied by a truly wonderful save from Craig Samson. However, Saints failed to get the danger clear after the goalkeeper's save with Livingston winning a corner from which they'd find their equaliser. Halkett made amends for his part in Saints' opener as he met Josh Mullin's corner to bullet home the equaliser.
The home side grew in confidence and then, for a second week in a row, St Mirren were reduced to ten men when Gary Irvine was shown a straight red after catching Dale Carrick late. That meant a change of shape for the Buddies, going from a 3-4-3 to a 4-4-1 and gave the Lions a man advantage with around an hour of the match still to go.
The windy conditions were also making it difficult for Saints as Livingston tried to make their extra man count. Craig Samson was on hand to deny De Vita's header after the forward met a terrific Mullin cross at the far post, before strong hands from the keeper kept out Joe Thomson's long range effort just before the interval.
Half Time: Livingston 1-1 St Mirren
Livingston came out of the traps quickly with Pittman having a shot blocked by Adam Eckersley.
But it was the visitors who would take the lead for a second time despite being down a man. Lewis Morgan was caught late 40 yards from the Livi goal as he tried to burst forward at pace and Saints were awarded a free kick. Ian McShane floated the ball into the box, where it was headed out only as far as Cammy Smith who let fly. Alexander got his hands to the effort, but only succeeding in pushing the ball into the path of Gavin Reilly who knocked it home.
And less than 10 minutes later the Buddies were three to the good with Reilly again on the scoresheet. Like the first it came from a free kick after Cammy Smith was pushed. McShane flung it deep into the Livingston box where he picked out Stelios who had peeled away at the far corner. The Cypriot nodded a header across the face of goal where Reilly was sliding into to crash it into the net to give Saints a cushion.
The drama in the match was far from over as Danny Mullen went into the book for a poor challenge on Stelios. Manager Jack Ross was sent to the stand as he protested the decision to take the full back off the pitch after receiving treatmenta.
Livingston had to chase the game, but it was Saints who were looking the more likely with the speed of Morgan causing problems when he hit the home side on the counter on several occasions. The closest the winger came was on 84 minutes when he broke through with John Sutton in support. He elected to go alone but saw his attempt blocked by Halkett.
The home side almost pulled one back two minutes later when substitute Nikolay Todorov cracked the bar after being teed off by Cadden.
But the makeshift St Mirren defence held firm and Saints picked up a big three points to move them up to fourth place with just three games played.
Full Time: Livingston 1-3 St Mirren
St Mirren: Samson, Irvine, Buchanan, Eckersley, L.Smith, McGinn, McShane, Stelios, C.Smith (Kirkpatrick 74), Morgan, Reilly (Sutton 67)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Whyte, O'Keefe, Stewart, Duffy
Livingston: Alexander, Longridge, Halkett, Gallagher, Byrne (Mackin 66) , Pittman, Thomson, Mullen, Mullin, Carrick (Todorov 71), De Vita (Cadden 60)
Subs Not Used: Maley, Penrice, Knox, Jacobs
Referee: Craig Thomson
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: Ross Anderson
Attendance: 1609
