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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a challenging night's task for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult tie; I’m very pleased with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was excellent."

Liam Rosenior holds this city dear to him, given some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Championship club. This happy association continued with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comprehensive Victory

Three days after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed Hull support clearly sensed it too, but the London side navigated the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for spurning glorious chances to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

However, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Influence

The home side showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have broken the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which came back from the crossbar, and he began to run away thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from there on out, providing three assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball set up his teammate to finish from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his hat-trick as the provider again delivered the crucial pass for the attacker to calmly slot by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested several key players with that aim 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 league," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he knows intimately.

FA Cup Omens Are Good

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward evening’s work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have gone on to make the showpiece. There is remains to be done in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.