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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber, combined with a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a challenging night's work for the visitors.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I’m delighted with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the players was excellent."

The Chelsea manager has this place close to his heart, given part of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Tigers. This positive connection was extended with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed home support evidently sensed it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of missing excellent chances to put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to take control of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Impact

The home side displayed great fight throughout, but the better opportunities consistently came to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have broken the deadlock when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which came back from the bar, and he started to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from there on out, providing three assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent run from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap again played the crucial pass for the attacker to coolly convert past a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been erased. Their priority must now return to achieving a return to the top division under their manager, who left out several key 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 very good position in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the next matches this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

There was plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging step forward for their new head coach at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the final. Much still done in that respect, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.