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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging evening’s work for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the lads was superb."

Liam Rosenior holds this place dear to him, considering some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. His positive connection continued with a commanding display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Secures Comprehensive Win

Three days removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The capacity Hull crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side handled the task perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of spurning excellent chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which acted as the spark for his team to assume control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto netting three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Influence

Hull displayed great spirit all game, but the clearer chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have opened the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which bounced back from the bar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had responded to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, registering 3 key passes. The first was for the first goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to finish from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from Delap laid on his teammate to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as Delap again delivered the crucial ball for the striker to coolly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had been forgotten. 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 aim in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform 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 positive example of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the end, and they almost got a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup History Look Promising

That made for an in the end straightforward night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. Much remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.