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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting breeze from the waters of the Humber, alongside a determined Hull City side fighting for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I am delighted with the display," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

Liam Rosenior holds this place dear to him, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. This happy connection was extended with a commanding performance from his team, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Secures Comprehensive 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 cup clash. The capacity home crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side handled the task with ease.

Rosenior rang the changes, making multiple of them to his XI. The match could and perhaps should have been settled long before it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a marvellous long-range strike, which acted as the catalyst for his team to take command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side showed great spirit throughout, but the clearer chances always came Chelsea’s way. The winger should have broken the deadlock when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced off the bar, and he began to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, providing three key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his pass set up his teammate to score from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from Delap laid on Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then completed his hat-trick as the provider again delivered the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly convert by a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who left out several first-choice players with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned 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 matches this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

There was great effort to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Look Good

The result resulted in an in the end routine night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive 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. Much still work in that regard, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.