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Against a backdrop of sleet, snow, and a biting breeze from the waters of the Humber, alongside a resolute home side fighting for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s work for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the players was superb."

The Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, considering part of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. This positive association was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days removed from surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge with ease.

The manager rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match could and perhaps should have been settled long before it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of spurning excellent chances to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range effort, which acted as the spark for his team to assume control of proceedings. By full time, they had four, with the forward scoring three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the clearer chances always came to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which came back from the bar, and Delap started to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball teed up Neto to finish from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Soon after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from the forward teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as Delap again delivered 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 priority must now return to securing a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out a number of first-choice players with that aim in mind.

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

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they nearly got a late goal when a substitute hit a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Are Good

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward evening’s performance, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the final. Much remains to be work in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.