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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a difficult night's task for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I am delighted with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city close to his heart, given part of his family are from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Championship club. His positive connection continued with a commanding display from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this intriguing tie. The capacity Hull support evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match could and perhaps should have been settled earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

But, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to take control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of fight all game, but the better chances always came to the visitors. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which came off the bar, and he began to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 key passes. The first was for the first goal as his through ball set up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Turns

Soon after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from the forward teed up Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his treble as the provider again delivered the decisive pass for the attacker to coolly convert by a stranded 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 achieving a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong situation in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the end, and they nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

Cup Omens Look Promising

That resulted in an in the end straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for the winners. They have faced 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 still done in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.