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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling breeze off the banks of the Humber, alongside a determined home side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the makings of a difficult night's work 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. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Rosenior holds this city close to his heart, given some of his relatives are from Hull and his successful period in management of the Tigers. This happy connection was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comfortable Win

Three days after surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed Hull support clearly sensed it too, but the London side navigated the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for spurning excellent chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a marvellous distance strike, which acted as the spark for his team to assume command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward scoring three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

The home side showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better opportunities consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger should have opened the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced back from the bar, and Delap began to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 key passes. The first was for the first goal as his pass set up his teammate to finish from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Soon after Neto’s second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as Delap once again played the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly convert by a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since erased. Their focus must now return to achieving a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several 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 very good position in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine evening’s work, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to make the final. There is remains to be work in that regard, but this was another significant tick for the Chelsea boss.