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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the makings of a difficult evening’s work for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult tie; I am 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 fans. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager has this city dear to him, given some of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. His positive association was extended with a commanding display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days after surrendering a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity home support evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, making seven of them to his XI. The match might and maybe should have been settled long before it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning glorious chances to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to assume command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward netting a trio of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of fight throughout, but the better opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have broken the deadlock when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced off the bar, and he started to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, providing three assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from the forward teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. Neto then completed his treble as the provider once again delivered the decisive ball for the attacker to calmly convert by a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had long since erased. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion 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 upcoming matches this can be a positive example of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a post 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.

FA Cup Omens Are Promising

That made for an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is still done in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.