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Amid sleet, snow, and a swirling breeze off the banks of the Humber, alongside a determined home side fighting for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s task for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m delighted with the performance," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, given some of his family hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. His happy connection continued with a commanding display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity Hull crowd clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, making seven of them to his XI. The match might and maybe ought to have been decided long before it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of spurning glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the spark for his team to assume command of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which came back from the crossbar, and he began to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up Neto to finish from outside the box. Shortly after the restart, it was two as the forward's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as Delap once again delivered the crucial ball for the striker to coolly slot past a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good situation in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed great effort to the final whistle, 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 step forward for their new manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup Omens Are Promising

The result resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. There is still done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.