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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling breeze from the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the display," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager has this city dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. His positive connection was extended with a commanding performance from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Secures Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal lead in the league, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home support clearly felt it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match could and perhaps ought to have been settled long before it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing glorious chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto netting a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

The home side displayed plenty of fight all game, but the clearer chances consistently fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which came back from the bar, and Delap began to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, providing three assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his hat-trick as the provider once again delivered the decisive ball for the attacker to calmly convert by a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the first half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive stride for their new manager at a place he knows very well.

Cup History Are Promising

The result made for an ultimately routine evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the final. Much still work in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.