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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s work for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the lads was superb."

Liam Rosenior has this city close to his heart, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his successful period in management of the Tigers. His happy connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his squad, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity Hull support evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, making multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and maybe should have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of missing excellent opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to take control of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have opened the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and he started to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from there on out, registering three key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again played the crucial ball for the attacker to coolly convert by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had long since erased. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who left out a number of first-choice players with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we must play."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he knows very well.

FA Cup History Look Good

That made for an ultimately routine evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous 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 done in that respect, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.