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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind off the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from the fans of fans. The attitude of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Championship club. His happy connection continued with a commanding performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Secures Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, making seven of them to his XI. The match might and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning glorious chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

However, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular distance effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume control of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Impact

Hull displayed great spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have broken the deadlock when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which came off the bar, and Delap began to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, providing three key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up Neto to finish from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from the forward teed up Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his hat-trick as Delap again played the decisive pass for the attacker to calmly convert past a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been erased. Their focus must now switch back to securing a promotion to the top division under their manager, who left out several first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we must play."

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

Cup History Look Good

That made for an ultimately routine night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is still work in that regard, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.