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Amid sleet, flurries, and a swirling breeze from the banks of the Humber, combined with a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I’m very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a good welcome from the fans of fans. The application of the lads was excellent."

The Chelsea manager holds this place close to his heart, considering part of his family are from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Championship club. His happy association was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Secures Comprehensive Victory

Three days removed from surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity Hull support clearly felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge with ease.

The manager rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his XI. The match could and maybe ought to have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume 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 Impact

The home side displayed great spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities always fell to the visitors. The winger should have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the bar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Turns

Soon after the second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from the forward teed up Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider once again delivered the crucial pass for the striker to calmly slot by a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had been erased. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who left out a number of key players with that aim in mind.

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

There was plenty of effort to the end, and they almost claimed a late goal when a substitute hit a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Are Promising

The result resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to make the final. There is still done in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.