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Amid sleet, flurries, and a biting wind from 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 task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m very pleased with the display," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from both sets of fans. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, given some of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell in charge of the Championship club. This happy association continued with a magnificent performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull support evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, making seven of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps should have been decided long before it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless mood. He opened the scoring with a spectacular distance effort, which acted as the spark for his team to take command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Influence

Hull showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better chances always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which came off the bar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to avert the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, registering 3 key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his treble as Delap again delivered the crucial pass for the striker to calmly convert past a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been erased. Their focus must now return to achieving a promotion to the top division under their manager, who rested several first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good position in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

There was plenty of effort to the end, and they almost got a consolation when a substitute hit a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive step forward for their new manager at a stadium he knows very well.

FA Cup Omens Are Good

That resulted in an in the end straightforward night's work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have gone on to make the showpiece. There is still work in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.