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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind from the waters of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging evening’s task for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I am very pleased with the display," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, given part of his family hail from Hull and his successful period in management of the Championship club. This positive association was extended with a magnificent performance from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, making seven of them to his XI. The tie might and maybe ought to have been decided long before it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for spurning glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to take control of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Influence

The home side showed plenty of spirit all game, but the clearer chances consistently came to the visitors. The winger ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced back from the crossbar, and he started to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his treble as Delap again played the decisive ball for the attacker to calmly slot by a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had been erased. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of key individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good situation in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he knows very well.

Cup Omens Are Promising

That made for an in the end straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. There is remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.