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Amid sleet, snow, and a swirling breeze off the banks of the Humber, alongside a determined home side fighting for promotion, this presented all the makings of a challenging evening’s work for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the display," the manager stated. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was superb."

Liam Rosenior has this city close to his heart, given part of his family hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. This happy association continued with a magnificent display from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning glorious opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the scoring with a spectacular distance effort, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

Hull showed great spirit all game, but the better opportunities consistently came to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced off the bar, and he started to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, registering 3 key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass set up Neto to score from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after the second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap again delivered the crucial ball for the striker to calmly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had been erased. Their priority must now return to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who left out several first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"I think 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. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they nearly got a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup Omens Are Promising

The result made for an ultimately straightforward evening’s work, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. There is still done in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.