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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting breeze from the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a difficult night's task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I’m very pleased with the performance," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a good reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager has this city close to his heart, given some of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. His happy connection was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull support clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task perfectly.

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

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to assume command of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Impact

The home side showed great fight all game, but the better opportunities consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which came off the crossbar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, registering three assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up Neto to finish from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as Neto's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after the second, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an empty net. Neto then completed his treble as Delap again played the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly slot past a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several first-choice individuals with that goal 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. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed great effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive step forward for their new manager at a place he knows very well.

FA Cup History Are Good

That resulted in an ultimately routine night's performance, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have played 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 remains to be work in that regard, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.