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

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am delighted with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a good reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players 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 Tigers. This positive connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Secures Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal lead in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The capacity Hull crowd evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, making seven of them to his XI. The tie might and maybe ought to have been settled long before it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for spurning glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular distance strike, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Impact

Hull showed great spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which came off the bar, and he started to run away thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, 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 hugely influential from that point onward, registering 3 assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass set up Neto to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from Delap laid on his teammate to slide into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as the provider again delivered the crucial pass for the striker to coolly slot past a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of key individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong situation in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging stride for their new head coach at a place he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup Omens Are Promising

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for the winners. 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 final. There is still done in that regard, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.