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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting breeze off the waters of the Humber, alongside a determined home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a difficult evening’s work for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I’m delighted with the display," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from the fans of fans. The attitude of the lads was superb."

Liam Rosenior has this place close to his heart, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his successful period in management of the Championship club. This happy association was extended with a commanding performance from his team, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Three days removed from surrendering a two-goal lead in the league, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home support evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match could and maybe ought to have been settled long before it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of spurning glorious chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous distance strike, which acted as the spark for his team to assume control of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of fight all game, but the clearer opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have broken the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which came off the crossbar, and he started to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, providing three key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his pass teed up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the restart, it was two as the forward's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from the forward laid on his teammate to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his hat-trick as the provider once again played the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out a number of key players with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good situation in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

There was plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they almost got a late goal when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows very well.

Cup Omens Are Promising

That made for an ultimately routine night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is still work in that regard, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.