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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting breeze from the banks of the Humber, alongside a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a challenging night's work for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am delighted with the display," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was superb."

The Rosenior has this place close to his heart, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. His positive connection continued with a commanding performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull support clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his XI. The match could and perhaps ought to have been decided long before it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for spurning excellent chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a marvellous long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to assume command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull displayed great fight all game, but the clearer chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have broken the deadlock when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which bounced off the crossbar, and Delap started to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had responded to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, providing 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the restart, it was two as Neto's corner went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second goal, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from the forward teed up Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again delivered the decisive pass for the attacker to calmly convert by a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had been erased. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out several key players 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 position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost got a consolation when a substitute hit a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup History Look Promising

The result made for an ultimately straightforward evening’s performance, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much remains to be work in that respect, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.