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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind from the banks of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s work 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 performance," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this place close to his heart, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in management of the Championship club. This positive connection continued with a magnificent performance from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Secures Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The packed Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match might and maybe ought to have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of spurning glorious chances to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

However, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

The home side showed great fight throughout, but the better opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the crossbar, and he started to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, registering 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his pass teed up Neto to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his hat-trick as Delap again played the crucial ball for the striker to calmly slot by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position in the Championship," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good lesson of how we should play."

There was great effort to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their new manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Are Good

That resulted in an in the end routine evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is still work in that regard, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.