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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind off the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I am very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the lads was superb."

The Rosenior has this place close to his heart, given part of his family hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell in charge of the Tigers. This positive association was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity home support evidently sensed it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, enacting multiple 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 chances to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Impact

Hull showed plenty of spirit all game, but the clearer chances consistently fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have opened the deadlock when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which came off the crossbar, and Delap began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, registering 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to finish from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from the forward teed up Estêvão to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again played the decisive pass for the attacker to coolly slot past a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had long since forgotten. Their focus must now return to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who left out several first-choice players with that aim in mind.

"I think 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 upcoming games this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

There was plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a stadium he knows intimately.

FA Cup Omens Look Good

That resulted in an ultimately routine evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much still done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.