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Amid sleet, snow, and a biting breeze off the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute 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 added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am delighted with the display," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was excellent."

The Chelsea manager has this city dear to him, considering some of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. This happy association was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Three days removed from letting slip a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed home support clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his XI. The match could and maybe should have been decided long before it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of spurning excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

However, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous distance strike, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto netting a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

Hull showed plenty of spirit all game, but the better chances consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the bar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded 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 first was for the opening goal as his pass set up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second goal, the match 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 the provider once again played the decisive ball for the striker to calmly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key 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 strong position in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

There was plenty of effort to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Look Promising

That made for an in the end straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. Much remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.