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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a swirling breeze off the waters of the Humber, alongside 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 scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was excellent."

The Chelsea manager holds this city dear to him, given part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in management of the Tigers. His positive connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed home support evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the challenge with ease.

The manager rang the changes, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match could and perhaps should have been decided long before it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

However, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to assume control of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of fight all game, but the clearer opportunities always came to the visitors. The winger ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced off the bar, and he began 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.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from there on out, registering three assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to score from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as the provider again delivered the decisive pass for the striker to calmly slot by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to achieving a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, 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 perform like this we will be in a strong situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the end, and they almost got a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup History Look Promising

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward evening’s work, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is still work in that respect, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.