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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side fighting for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s work for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the performance," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a positive reception from both sets of supporters. The application of the lads was excellent."

Liam Rosenior has this place close to his heart, given part of his family are from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Championship club. This positive association was extended with a commanding performance from his team, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Three days removed from letting slip a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The capacity Hull crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge with ease.

The manager made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and maybe should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a marvellous distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to assume control of the match. By full time, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Influence

Hull showed great fight throughout, but the better opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and Delap started to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from there on out, providing 3 key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his pass teed up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from the forward teed up Estêvão to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again played the decisive ball for the striker to coolly convert by a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the first half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out several first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform 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 lesson of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they almost got a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive step forward for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Are Good

The result made for an ultimately routine night's work, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. There is remains to be done in that regard, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.