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Amid sleet, snow, and a swirling wind off the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the display," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a good reception from the fans of fans. The application of the lads was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city dear to him, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable spell in charge of the Tigers. This happy association was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home crowd clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge with ease.

Rosenior rang the changes, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match could and maybe should have been settled long before it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing glorious opportunities to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular distance effort, which proved to be the spark for his team to assume command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward scoring three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Influence

Hull displayed great spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have broken the deadlock when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which bounced off the crossbar, and Delap started to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, providing three assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent run from the forward teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. Neto then completed his treble as Delap once again delivered the crucial pass for the attacker to calmly slot past a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had long since forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out a number of key players with that goal in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good position in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the end, and they almost claimed a late goal when a substitute hit a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive stride for their new head coach at a place he knows very well.

Cup History Are Good

The result resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is remains to be work in that regard, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.