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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a difficult night's work for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I am very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a good welcome from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city close to his heart, given part of his family are from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Tigers. His happy connection was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match might and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of missing glorious chances to put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to take control of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull showed great spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger should have opened the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which bounced off the bar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The first was for the opening goal as his pass set up Neto to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second goal, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from the forward teed up Estêvão to slide into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as Delap once again played the decisive pass for the striker to coolly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the first half-hour had been forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position 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."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly got a late goal when a substitute struck a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup Omens Look Good

That resulted in an ultimately routine evening’s performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the final. Much remains to be work in that respect, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.