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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind off the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute Hull City side fighting for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I’m very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a good reception from the fans of fans. The application of the lads was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, considering part of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. His positive connection continued with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days after letting slip a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The capacity Hull support clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, making seven of them to his XI. The match could and maybe should have been decided long before it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of spurning excellent chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the spark for his team to take control of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto netting a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Impact

Hull showed plenty of fight all game, but the better opportunities consistently came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have opened the deadlock when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which came off the crossbar, and Delap began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had responded to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing three assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up Neto to finish from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from Delap laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as the provider again played the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly slot by a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a promotion to the top division under their manager, who rested several first-choice 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 Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive example of how we should play."

There was great endeavour to the end, and they nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive stride for their new manager at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup Omens Are Good

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to make the final. Much remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.