Livingston 1 Airdrie United 1 James McPake reiterated his plea to be allowed to leave Livingston for Coventry City this month.

Livingston 1 Airdrie United 1

James McPake reiterated his plea to be allowed to leave Livingston for Coventry City this month, writes James Morgan. The 24-year-old has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Coca-Cola Championship side but handed in a transfer request on Friday in an attempt to expedite the move to England, amid reports players at Almondvale have not been paid for a fortnight.

"It's well known that I don't want to be here and I want to be down there right away," said McPake. "Things are going on at the club at the moment and I've basically had enough. There's no point trying to cover it the wage issue up anymore. Everyone knows that we have not been getting paid on time and it's not a couple of days late, it's a couple of weeks late."

McPake certainly looks capable of stepping up a level but he was lucky to finish this match. He received a yellow card for grabbing Kevin McDonald by the throat after the Airdrie midfielder's awful challenge on Chris Innes. In truth, both were lucky to stay on the pitch but Steve O'Reilly, the referee, thought otherwise, issuing bookings instead.

A draw was about right. Livingston's players made light of their financial woes and had the better of the first-half; Airdrie, particularly after the introduction of Paul Di Giacomo for Joe Cardle, dominated the second.

The former set up the opening goal in the 68th minute, seconds after taking the field. The former Kilmarnock striker skipped clear of the Livingston backline before squaring to Simon Lynch, who made no mistake with his first-time finish. It meant redemption of sorts for Lynch who had missed a first-half penalty.

However, just as it looked like the visitors were going to record their second away win of the season, Livingston equalised. Calum Elliot, the on-loan striker from Hearts, slammed the ball home with four minutes left after Stephen Robertson had saved from Anthony McParland.

Elliot is unsure whether he will be back at his parent club today but Paul Hegarty said he has had fruitful talks with the club's owners over potential new signings.

Convincing said players to sign might prove a different matter.