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Amid sleet, snow, and a biting breeze off the waters of the Humber, alongside a resolute home side fighting for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from the fans of fans. The attitude of the players was excellent."

The Chelsea manager holds this city close to his heart, considering some of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. This positive connection was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side navigated the challenge with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps ought to have been settled long before it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of spurning excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to take command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of fight all game, but the better chances always came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which came back from the bar, and Delap began to run away thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after the second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from the forward laid on his teammate to slide into an empty net. Neto then completed his hat-trick as the provider again delivered the crucial pass for the attacker to calmly convert by a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the first half-hour had been erased. Their focus must now return to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who left out a number of key players with that goal 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 Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they nearly got a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup History Are Promising

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is remains to be work in that respect, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.