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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind from the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a good welcome from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

Liam Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. 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 Finishing Seals Comfortable Victory

Three days after surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed Hull support evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge with ease.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match could and maybe should have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for missing glorious opportunities to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to assume control of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Influence

Hull 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 keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which came off 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 backline had responded to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, registering 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to score from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as the forward's set-piece went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his hat-trick as Delap once again played the decisive ball for the attacker to calmly slot by a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first half-hour had long since erased. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who left out a number of 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 strong situation in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the end, and they nearly got a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging stride for their new head coach at a place he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

The result made for an ultimately straightforward evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much remains to be work in that regard, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.