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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind off the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a difficult evening’s work for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am very pleased with the display," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a good reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

The Rosenior has this place dear to him, considering some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in management of the Tigers. His positive connection was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The capacity Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of missing excellent opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

But, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to assume control of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Impact

The home side displayed great spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities always came to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which bounced off the crossbar, and Delap began to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, registering three key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as Delap again played the decisive pass for the striker to calmly slot by a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had long since forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested several key individuals with that goal 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 Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was great endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

Cup Omens Are Good

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to make the showpiece. Much still done in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.