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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a challenging night's work for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m very pleased with the performance," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

The Rosenior has this place close to his heart, considering some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. His happy association continued with a commanding performance from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Three days removed from letting slip a two-goal lead in the league, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this intriguing tie. The capacity home crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and maybe should have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the opening period.

However, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous long-range effort, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring three of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

Hull showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better chances consistently fell Chelsea’s way. The winger should have opened the scoring when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced back from the bar, and Delap began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, 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 moment, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, registering three assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to score from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from Delap teed up his teammate to tap into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his treble as the provider again delivered the decisive pass for the attacker to coolly convert past a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to achieving a promotion to the top division under their manager, who left out a number of key individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a good example of how we should play."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed manager at a place he knows very well.

FA Cup Omens Are Promising

That resulted in an ultimately routine night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is still work in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.