Eddie Annand missed a penalty as Ayr had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Airdrie.

As early as the second minute, the visitors posed a threat when Annand beat Airdrie goalkeeper Ramiro Gonzalez to a cross but could not direct his header towards goal.

The opening 15 minutes saw little in the way of chances for either side.

After 18 minutes, Owen Coyle almost put Airdrie in front but his 20-yard free-kick struck a post and was cleared.

Ayr eventually broke the deadlock after 28 minutes when Lee Sharp broke down the left and sent over a perfect cross for Gary Teale to nod home.

Airdrie had Gonzalez to thank for two fine saves as Ayr pushed forward.

The goalkeeper did well to block when Annand was clean through - and on another occasion Teale made a great run from the halfway line and saw his effort saved well.

The second half was again dominated by Ayr, but in a spell of pressure, the Diamonds levelled.

Coyle sent over a tremendous cross from the left and Robert Dunn blasted the ball past Craig Nelson.

It looked as if Ayr were going to take the lead once more after 75 minutes when a penalty was awarded.

But, once again, Gonzalez was the hero, pulling off a wonderful save from Annand's spot-kick.

The Diamonds almost stole it with two minutes remaining when Robert Struthers went clean through on goal, but the youngster saw his opportunity blocked by Nelson and both sides had to settle for a share of the points.