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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a swirling wind off the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute Hull City side fighting for promotion, this presented all the makings of a challenging night's work for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I am very pleased with the performance," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from both sets of supporters. The application of the players was excellent."

Liam Rosenior holds this city close to his heart, considering part of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. This positive association continued with a magnificent display from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Secures Comfortable Victory

Three days after letting slip a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task perfectly.

The manager made alterations, making seven of them to his XI. The match could and maybe ought to have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for missing glorious chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to assume command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Influence

Hull showed plenty of fight all game, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão should have broken the deadlock when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which came off the bar, and Delap began to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to score from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider once again played the crucial pass for the striker to coolly convert by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since erased. Their focus must now return to securing a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we should play."

Hull showed great endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he knows very well.

Cup History Are Promising

The result made for an in the end straightforward night's work, and the cup competition omens are good 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.