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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting breeze off the waters of the Humber, alongside a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging evening’s work for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I am delighted with the display," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from the fans of fans. The application of the players was excellent."

The Chelsea manager has this city dear to him, considering some of his family are from Hull and his successful period in management of the Tigers. This positive connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The capacity Hull crowd clearly sensed it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match could and maybe ought to have been settled long before it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for missing glorious chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular distance strike, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By full time, they had four, with Neto netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

Hull displayed great spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which came back from the bar, and he started 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 clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, registering 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Soon after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from Delap laid on Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as Delap again played the crucial ball for the striker to coolly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of key players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the league," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a good example of how we should play."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they nearly got a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup History Look Promising

That resulted in an in the end routine evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much remains to be work in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.