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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling breeze from the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a difficult evening’s work for Chelsea.

"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," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was superb."

The Chelsea manager holds this place close to his heart, given some of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. His happy connection was extended with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Secures Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity Hull support evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task perfectly.

The manager made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been settled long before it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

Hull showed plenty of fight throughout, but the clearer chances consistently fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have opened the deadlock when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which came back from the bar, and he started to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing three assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass teed up Neto to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from the forward teed up his teammate to tap into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his treble as Delap once again delivered the crucial ball for the striker to calmly slot by a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first half-hour had long since forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who left out several key individuals with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong situation in the league," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup History Are Good

The result resulted in an ultimately straightforward evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. There is still done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.