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Amid sleet, flurries, and a biting breeze from the banks of the Humber, alongside a determined home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a challenging night's work for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am delighted with the performance," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from the fans of fans. The application of the lads was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager has this place close to his heart, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. This happy connection continued with a magnificent performance from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed home crowd clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of spurning excellent chances to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the spark for his team to take control of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Influence

Hull showed great fight all game, but the better opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger should have broken the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which came off the bar, and he started to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, providing three assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass teed up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from the forward teed up Estêvão to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider once again played the decisive ball for the attacker to calmly convert by a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had been erased. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good position in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we should play."

There was great endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Are Good

The result resulted in an in the end routine night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is remains to be done in that regard, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.