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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind from the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined Hull City side pushing hard 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 difficult fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from the fans of fans. The attitude of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, considering some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Tigers. This positive connection was extended with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Three days after letting slip a 2-0 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 the London side handled the challenge with ease.

The manager rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and maybe should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for missing glorious chances to put their side in front in the first half.

But, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular distance strike, which acted as the spark for his team to take control of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Influence

Hull showed great spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which came back from the bar, and Delap began to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, registering three assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent run from the forward teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his treble as Delap once again played the decisive ball for the attacker to coolly convert past a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested several first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good situation in the league," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive example of how we should play."

There was great effort to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup History Are Good

The result made for an in the end straightforward evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.