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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s task for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I am very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a positive reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

The Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in management of the Tigers. This happy connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days after letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home support evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his XI. The match could and maybe ought to have been decided long before it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

However, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He opened the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the spark for his team to assume command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

The home side showed great spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and Delap 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 threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to finish from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as the forward's set-piece went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after the second goal, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap again delivered the decisive pass for the striker to calmly convert past a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of key players with that aim in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we should play."

Hull showed great endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost got a late goal when a substitute struck a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive step forward for their new manager at a place he knows intimately.

Cup History Look Promising

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the final. There is still done in that regard, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.