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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind from the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined Hull City side fighting for promotion, this presented all the makings of a difficult night's task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I’m very pleased with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good reception from the fans of fans. The application of the players was excellent."

The Rosenior holds this place dear to him, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Tigers. This happy association was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth 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 sniff of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed home support clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task with ease.

The manager rang the changes, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for missing excellent chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

However, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a marvellous long-range effort, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

Hull showed great spirit all game, but the clearer chances always fell to the visitors. Estêvão should have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which bounced back from the crossbar, and he started to run away thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, registering 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from the forward teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. Neto then completed his hat-trick as Delap once again played the crucial ball for the striker to coolly slot past a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the first half-hour had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who rested several key individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they nearly got a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Look Promising

That resulted in an in the end routine night's performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is remains to be work in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.