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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind off the waters of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined home side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am delighted with the performance," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a positive reception from both sets of supporters. The application of the lads was excellent."

The Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Tigers. This happy connection was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Three days removed from surrendering a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, making multiple of them to his XI. The match might and maybe ought to have been decided long before it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning glorious chances to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of the match. By full time, they had four, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

The home side displayed great spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which bounced off the crossbar, and he started to run away thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from the forward teed up his teammate to tap into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his treble as Delap again played the decisive ball for the striker to calmly convert by a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive example of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging stride for their new head coach at a place he knows very well.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

The result made for an in the end straightforward night's work, and the cup competition omens are positive 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 progressed to make the final. There is still done in that regard, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.