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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind off the waters of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a difficult evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the display," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from both sets of fans. The application of the players was superb."

The Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, considering some of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell 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 FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comprehensive Win

Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed home support evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task with ease.

The manager rang the changes, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and maybe should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for spurning excellent chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular distance strike, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have broken the scoring when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

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

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass set up his teammate to finish from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his hat-trick as the provider once again delivered the decisive pass for the attacker to calmly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of first-choice individuals 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," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was great effort to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows very well.

FA Cup Omens Are Good

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward evening’s work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. Much remains to be done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.