SUDDENLY EVERYBODY wants to dance to Chesterfield's tune, but for a few glorious minutes yesterday, nowhere outside Old Trafford was the delirium more pronounced than at Hillsborough.
Sheffield Wednesday's supporters were exultant as the achievements of the tiny, habitually overlooked club just 15 miles down the road, while for Newcastle's followers there was the added sense of schadenjkeude brought about by their north-eastern rivalry with Middlesbrough.
If there were times when the fans proved difficult to differentiate, that applied more markedly to the teams, as Mark Pembridge's emphatic left-footed volley for Wednesday just before the hour cancelled out Robbie Elliott's first-half goal. However, a draw enhanced Newcastle's prospects of a presence in next season's UEFA Cup, rather than Wednesday's.
Newcastle must still brace themselves for matches at Manchester United and Arsenal and they have only won once away from home in the league since October, but the restoration of Alan Shearer enhances their prospects of offering a worthwhile challenge.
In spite of three groin operations in less than a year, his fitness is unquestionable and, for the first half at least, he was at his most impressive. Felled in the first half by Dejan Stefanovic, Shearer even managed to rise to his feet before the appearance of the stretcher, proof enough of his freshness.
Shearer was the focal point for all Newcastle's most impressive moments. Within the first three minutes he had snatched a shot wide and then hammered a header over the bar. A cold free kick from 25 yards, which was pushed aside at full stretch by Kevin Pressman, emphasised that Shearer's touch was in decent order, and the old partnership of Ferdinand and Shearer also announced itself back in business when Shearer tapped in Ferdinand's cross, only for the linesman to rule it off-side.
Wednesday's response was limited, although Guy Whittingham almost ran the ball in after John Beresford had headed past his onrushing goalkeeper Shaka Hislop. Their attacking threat was further nullified when Andy Booth departed through injury, victim of David Batty's tackle.
It was Shearer's ability to hold the ball up which produced Newcastle's 35th-minute goal.
He resisted pressure from Des Walker close to the goal-line long enough for Robbie Elliott to arrive in support and score with the combination of a shot, a stumble and a ricochet off Peter Atherton.
All of this underlining the fact that yesterday Wednesday did not look worthy of the point which was salvaged 12 minutes into the second half when Mark Pembridge scored from Benito Carbone's cross.
