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Amid freezing rain, snow, and a swirling breeze off the waters of the Humber, alongside a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging night's task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the performance," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the lads was superb."

The Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, considering some of his family are from Hull and his successful period in management of the Tigers. This happy connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed home support clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match might and maybe should have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of spurning excellent chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He opened the scoring with a marvellous long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to take control of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting a trio of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Influence

The home side displayed great fight throughout, but the clearer chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced off the crossbar, and he started to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Soon after the second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap again played the crucial pass for the striker to coolly slot by a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had been erased. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who left out several key players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong situation in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was great endeavour to the end, and they nearly got a consolation when a substitute hit a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive step forward for their new manager at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup History Look Good

The result resulted in an ultimately routine night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. There is remains to be done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.