The ball rebounds off Joe Shaughnessy and into the net to give Livingston the lead
St Mirren caretaker Jamie Langfield praised his players' mentality after they came from behind to draw with Livingston in their first game since manager Jim Goodwin's exit to Aberdeen.
Greg Kiltie's strike secured a Scottish Premiership point after Joe Shaughnessy's own goal threatened to end their seven-game unbeaten run.
St Mirren played the final minutes with 10 men after Charles Dunne's red card.
"Livingston were better than us," Langfield said.
"To keep our unbeaten run going, especially after the last couple of days, is testament to the players. They have this winning mentality just now and don't want to be defeated."
The Paisley side drop one place to seventh, with Livingston staying ninth but only three points off fourth in a congested table.
All eyes were on the St Mirren dugout before kick-off as Langfield led an interim coaching team, making no changes to the side that battered Kelty Hearts in the Scottish Cup last weekend.
His first task was to pick up the players who were no doubt reeling from the loss of Goodwin after his move to Aberdeen was confirmed the morning of the game.
Martindale, meanwhile, was celebrating 50 Premiership matches in charge of Livingston and is now the league's third longest-serving manager.
St Mirren started the brighter but Livingston - buoyed by a fantastic local turnout - carved out the better opportunities, with Bruce Anderson stabbing wide after Nicky Devlin fired a cut back too close to the onrushing striker.
When they did take the lead 10 minutes after half-time, Anderson was again involved. Joel Nouble - playing wide off the striker - sent a lovely ball down the line to Devlin who crossed to the front post.
Anderson pinged a first-time effort off the upright, with the ball bouncing back off the sliding Shaughnessy and past the stranded Jak Alnwick.
St Mirren were struggling to create and Livingston would have been confident of seeing the game out - but the visitors showed good resolve to score with their only remaining opportunity.
A long corner was nodded back into the six-yard area and Alan Forrest scuffed his clearance. The ball dropped to Kiltie who fired it back towards goal and, thanks to a deflection, past Max Stryjek.
There was still time for the Paisley side to invite pressure on themselves, although Dunne may feel hard done by for receiving a straight red when he caught Sebastian Soto with an arm while eyeing up an aerial challenge.
Man of the Match - Greg Kiltie
The forward has looked like a new player since January and his goal earned St Mirren a point
What did we learn?
At the start of January, St Mirren still had manager Goodwin and talisman Jamie McGrath.
They have since lost both, but their unbeaten run goes on and they remain well in the hunt for a top-six finish.
Goodwin's acquisitions in the last two transfer windows should be lauded. Kiltie, Jordan Jones and Alex Greive look a real attacking threat and - although they went quiet in the second half - they can trouble most defences in this league.
Alex Gogic and Alan Power, too, deserve credit for their work in the St Mirren engine room.
As for Livingston, the talking point centred around Martindale's accomplishment. Fifty games and the third longest-serving manager in the league?
That's a damning statistic for the rest of the division and an indication of the itchy trigger finger that has now pervaded Premiership boardrooms.
What they said?
Livingston manager David Martindale: "I'm bitterly disappointed. It's been the theme the last three games, including this one.
"We controlled large parts of the game although we never worked [Jak] Alnwick as much as we'd like. We've got to do more in the final third. We need a wee bit of composure.
"I never felt at any point that St Mirren were causing us any trouble. Their goal was bad defending on our part."
St Mirren goalkeeping coach Jamie Langfield: "We're delighted with the point. We didn't create enough chances and Livingston made it very hard for us.
"One thing I'll say about the new manager coming in - he's got a unbelievable squad of boys who will run through a brick wall for him. The person who comes in is a very fortunate manager."
What's next?
Both sides face Dundee in their next match. St Mirren visit Tayside on Wednesday (19:45 GMT), then host Hearts on Saturday (15:00), while Livingston are at Dens Park the same afternoon.
