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Amid sleet, snow, and a swirling wind off the banks of the Humber, combined with a determined Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging night's task for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a good reception from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Rosenior holds this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable period in management of the Tigers. His positive connection was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days after surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The capacity Hull support evidently felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge with ease.

The manager made alterations, making seven of them to his XI. The match could and maybe should have been settled long before it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for missing glorious opportunities to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the catalyst for his team to assume control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull showed great spirit all game, but the better chances always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. Delap 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 he began to celebrate thinking 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 instrumental from there on out, registering three assists. The first was for the opening goal as his pass teed up Neto to finish from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from the forward teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as Delap once again delivered the decisive pass for the striker to coolly slot past a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to achieving a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive step forward for their new manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup Omens Are Promising

The result made for an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this competition in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. Much remains to be done in that regard, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.