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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side fighting for promotion, this had all the makings of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult tie; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the lads was superb."

Liam Rosenior holds this city dear to him, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. His positive connection was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull crowd clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been settled long before it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.

However, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take control of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of fight all game, but the better opportunities consistently came to the visitors. The winger should have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which came back from the bar, and Delap started to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to avert the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from there on out, providing three key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's set-piece went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his hat-trick as Delap once again delivered the crucial pass for the striker to coolly slot by a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first half-hour had long since erased. Their priority must now return to securing a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of key players with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive example of how we should play."

Hull showed great endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost got a late goal when a substitute hit a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive step forward for their new manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup History Look Good

The result made for an in the end straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the showpiece. Much still work in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.