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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting breeze from the waters of the Humber, alongside a resolute Hull City side fighting for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a difficult night's work for the visitors.

"We might 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 means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from both sets of fans. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

Liam Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, considering some of his family are from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Tigers. This positive connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Secures Comprehensive Victory

Three days removed from letting slip a two-goal lead in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home crowd clearly sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps should have been decided long before it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of spurning glorious chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to take command of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side displayed great fight throughout, but the clearer chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger should have broken the deadlock when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the crossbar, and Delap began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, registering three assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up Neto to score from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as Neto's corner went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling run from the forward laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as the provider once again played the crucial pass for the striker to coolly slot past a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been erased. Their focus must now switch back to securing a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out a number of first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong situation in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed great effort to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Look Good

The result made for an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition signs 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 progressed to make the final. There is still done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.