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Amid freezing rain, snow, and a swirling wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a challenging night's work for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a good reception from both sets of supporters. The application of the lads was superb."

The Rosenior holds this city dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. His positive association continued with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Secures Comprehensive Victory

Three days removed from surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The capacity home support clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match could and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of spurning glorious opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular distance effort, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to take command of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

Hull showed great spirit throughout, but the better opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have broken the deadlock when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting 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 came off the bar, and he started to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from there on out, registering three assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass teed up his teammate to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from Delap teed up his teammate to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as Delap once again played the crucial ball for the striker to coolly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the first half-hour had been erased. Their priority must now return to securing a promotion to the top division under their manager, who left out a number of first-choice 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 position 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."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging stride for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to make the final. There is remains to be work in that respect, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.