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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I’m delighted with the display," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

The Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, considering some of his family hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. This happy connection continued with a magnificent display from his team, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The packed Hull support evidently felt it too, but the London side navigated the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and maybe should have been decided long before it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical mood. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take command of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently came to the visitors. The winger ought to have broken the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which came back from the bar, and Delap began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from there on out, registering three assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball set up Neto to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Turns

Soon after the second, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent run from Delap teed up Estêvão to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again played the crucial ball for the striker to coolly slot by a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who left out a number of first-choice individuals 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 situation in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good lesson of how we should play."

There was plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Look Good

That resulted in an ultimately routine evening’s work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the final. Much remains to be work in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.