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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber, alongside a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the makings of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good reception from the fans of fans. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Rosenior has this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Tigers. This happy association was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed home support clearly sensed it too, but the London side handled the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps should have been settled long before it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which acted as the spark for his team to take control of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward scoring three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Impact

The home side displayed great fight throughout, but the better chances always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the bar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, registering 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as the forward's set-piece went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his treble as the provider again played the crucial ball for the attacker to coolly convert past a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, 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 very good situation in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we should play."

There was great endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost got a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is still work in that respect, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.