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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a biting breeze from the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I am very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city dear to him, considering some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Championship club. His happy connection continued with a magnificent display from his team, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed home crowd clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting seven of them to his XI. The match could and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning excellent opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.

However, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to take control of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side displayed great fight all game, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. The winger should have opened the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which bounced back from the bar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, 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 miss, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again played the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly slot by a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their focus must now return to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of key players with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was great effort to the end, and they almost got a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Look Good

That resulted in an ultimately routine night's work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the final. There is still done in that regard, but this was another significant tick for the Chelsea boss.