Football: Sinton lights up gloomy Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday. . .1 Bright 67 Chelsea. . . . . . . . .1 Wise 40 Attendance: 25,450 CHELSEA may have had to clear the casualty ward to fill in the team sheet, but the effort was worth it. Luck may not have been with Wednesday but Chelsea could easily have sneaked off with all three points.

Two minutes into the second half Wednesday's shaky self-esteem hit rock bottom when John Sheridan squandered a penalty opportunity which would have equalised Dennis Wise's 40th-minute opener. Only a flash of inspired wing play by Andy Sinton which handed Mark Bright the equaliser on a plate in the 67th minute saved Wednesday's bacon and salvaged a point.

That Chelsea had come on nothing more ambitious than a smash-and-grab mission was obvious early enough. Neil Shipperley was more or less left as a lonely beacon in the Wednesday half while Wise, Nigel Spackman and Eddie Newton concentrated on stopping the home side's movement rather than putting a determined effort into servicing their man up front. The early danger for Chelsea came from Sinton, never shy of taking on his man as young full-back Gareth Hall could testify in the opening half-hour. But Wednesday's failure to convert their early chances into anything positive slowly eroded their confidence.

Ian Taylor's header from Sinton's cross slipped inches past and then Sheridan and Chris Bart-Williams showed sloppy marksmanship with shots from 25 yards. Five minutes from half-time the fears of Hillsborough's pessimists were confirmed.

David Hopkin had displayed some signs of pace on Chelsea's right until then, but it was a burst of dogged perseverance that allowed him to deliver a cross. Wise used it to deadly effect, volleying on the turn to send the ball low inside Kevin Pressman's left-hand post.

The half-time whistle must have come as a great relief for Wednesday.

Refreshed, they started the second half all bustle, but still little menace.

However, Newton rashly barged Taylor to the ground in the 47th minute as they chased Sheridan's teasing chip. The Irishman himself then made a mess of the resultant penalty, Dimitri Kharin saving his lame shot by diving to his left.

But the persistent Sinton, Wednesday's only hope of salvation, delivered the goods in the 67th minute with a darting run to the byline and a perfect cross to which Bright had to administer only the most perfunctory of nods to beat Kharin.

Chelsea announced their decision to settle for a point by replacing David Rocastle with the defender Andy Myers for the last 15 minutes while Wednesday brought on Dan Petrescu in place of an out-of- position and out-of-form Bart- Williams.

Once again Wednesday were lamenting the loss of points that should have been in the bag.

But Chelsea can go into Europe with the knowledge that their defence can dig in when necessary. They may have to in Vienna this week.