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Amid sleet, snow, and a swirling wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m very pleased with the performance," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

The Rosenior has this city close to his heart, considering part of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. His happy association was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Secures Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The capacity Hull crowd clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and maybe should have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing excellent opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

However, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He opened the scoring with a marvellous long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take control of the match. By full time, they had four, with Neto netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull showed plenty of spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which came off the crossbar, and he began to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, providing three assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his hat-trick as the provider again delivered the decisive pass for the striker to coolly convert by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had long since erased. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice players 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 very good position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a good example of how we must play."

There was great effort to the final whistle, and they almost got a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he knows very well.

Cup History Look Good

The result resulted in an ultimately straightforward evening’s work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is remains to be work in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.