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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting breeze off the banks of the Humber, alongside a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I am delighted with the display," the manager stated. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a positive reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager has this city dear to him, given some of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Championship club. His positive connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Seals Comprehensive Victory

Three days after surrendering a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull crowd clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task with ease.

Rosenior rang the changes, making seven of them to his XI. The match might and maybe should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which acted as the spark for his team to take command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side displayed great fight all game, but the better chances always came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which came off the bar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had responded to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up Neto to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again played the crucial pass for the attacker to calmly convert past a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the work Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out a number of first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was plenty of effort to the end, and they almost got a late goal when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive stride for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. Much still work in that regard, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.