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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a biting breeze off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of fans. The application of the players was superb."

The Rosenior holds this place dear to him, given part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. His happy association was extended with a commanding performance from his squad, who in the end strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comfortable Win

Three days removed from surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The packed home support clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, making seven of them to his XI. The match might and maybe should have been decided long before it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of missing excellent chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume command of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better chances always came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which bounced back from the crossbar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded 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 key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his pass teed up Neto to score from outside the box. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as the provider once again delivered the crucial ball for the striker to calmly slot past a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested several first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good situation in the Championship," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the next matches this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he knows very well.

FA Cup History Are Promising

That made for an ultimately routine night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much remains to be done in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.