Airdrie and East Fife drew a blank in a match that was devoid of any real goalmouth incident.

A couple of flashpoints livened up second-half proceedings, but with thirteen bookings issued between players and coaching staff, the game was all too often punctuated by the referee’s whistle.

Airdrie reinstated Jamie Sneddon, Dylan MacDonald, Craig Ross, Gavin Gallagher, Callum Burnside and Lewis Gibson to the side after Tuesday’s KDM Evolution Trophy defeat, while there were places on the bench for striker Dapo Mebude and new club captain Cole McKinnon as they returned from injury, alongside latest signing Josh Gentles.

East Fife looked sharp on the counter in the early stages, but a fine Dylan MacDonald interception snuffed out a sixth-minute attack.

Fife striker Nathan Austin got a volley away three minutes later, but the ball soared over the top of the stand.

Tom Milne failed to get the better of Craig Ross as the visitors continued to look for an early opening, and the Diamonds hit back through Burnside, who put too much on his pass to Liam McLeish after a strong Kwame Boateng challenge had won possession.

Sam Fisher surged forward after a similar tackle midway through the first half, feeding Matty Yates who saw his pass intercepted.

Yates was finding good positions across the forward line and got onto a Burnside pass at the near post with nine minutes of the half remaining, but as he chipped the ball back into the middle the visiting defence were able to bundle clear.

Gavin Gallagher almost gave the Diamonds the perfect start to the second half, stepping on to Yates’s square pass and firing an effort against the top of the bar from the edge of the D.

Airdrie attacked again on 57 minutes, McLeish clipping a nice ball over the top for Gibson, who picked out Burnside with his cutback only for Mamadou Bah to block the shot on the six-yard line.

Bah was at the centre of a controversial moment eight minutes later, Airdrie sub Mebude racing on to Burnside’s threaded pass only to be hauled down by the East Fife defender. Referee Peter Stuart adjudged Brian Easton to have been in a covering position and settled for a yellow card.

Debutant Gentles played in Gibson on 68 minutes, but the wide man snatched at his cross and screwed the ball wide with Mebude waiting to convert.

Only five minutes after his booking, Bah chose to walk a tightrope by once again dumping Mebude to the ground, but on this occasion the only card was shown to Diamonds boss John Rankin for questioning why the same challenge wasn't met by the same punishment.

Having survived two dismissal claims, Bah joined the attack on 80 minutes, hooking his overhead effort wide from a sitting position.

Another powderkeg moment followed as Mebude jostled for a long ball with ex-Diamond Kieran Millar. Having been penalised for a shirt-pull, Mebude was then grabbed round the neck by Andy Munro, who dragged the Airdrie man away in a headlock. Again yellow cards were the only punishment meted out, with Mebude, Munro, McKinnon and Millar all going into the book.

The last chance of a scrappy afternoon fell to Diamonds sub Kian Taylor, who tried his luck with an 89th-minute lob, but saw the ball drop wide of the top corner.

With a draw the right result after a slightly livelier second half, Airdrie now take to the road in an attempt to find their first league win with a trip to Palmerston Park to face Queen of the South next Saturday.