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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am delighted with the performance," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was excellent."

The Chelsea manager has this city dear to him, considering part of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable period in management of the Championship club. His happy association was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Secures Comfortable Victory

Three days removed from surrendering a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed home support evidently sensed it too, but the London side handled the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and perhaps should have been settled earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning excellent opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical mood. He opened the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as 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 brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

Hull showed great spirit throughout, but the better chances always fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced off the bar, and he started to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing three key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up Neto to score from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from the forward teed up his teammate to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his hat-trick as Delap once again played the crucial pass for the striker to calmly slot past a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had long since forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who left out several first-choice players 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," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Look Promising

The result made for an ultimately routine evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three previous times in this competition in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. Much remains to be work in that respect, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.