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Amid sleet, snow, and a swirling breeze from the banks of the Humber, combined with a determined Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult night's work for the visitors.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from the fans of fans. The application of the lads was excellent."

The Rosenior has this city close to his heart, given part of his family are from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. This happy association was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull crowd clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match could and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for spurning excellent opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical mood. He opened the scoring with a spectacular distance effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better opportunities always fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which came back from the bar, and Delap started to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, registering three assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass set up Neto to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from the forward laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his hat-trick as Delap once again delivered the decisive ball for the striker to calmly convert past a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first half-hour had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

There was great endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging step forward for their new head coach at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup History Are Promising

That resulted in an ultimately routine evening’s work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is still done in that respect, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.