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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting wind off the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. This happy association continued with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Three days after surrendering a two-goal lead in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side navigated the task perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing glorious chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular distance strike, which proved to be the spark for his team to assume command of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto scoring three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

The home side displayed great spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently came to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which came back from the bar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, providing three assists. The first was for the opening goal as his pass teed up Neto to finish from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling run from Delap teed up Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as the provider again played the decisive ball for the striker to calmly slot by a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had been erased. Their priority must now return to securing a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good situation in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was great endeavour to the end, and they nearly got a consolation when a substitute struck a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive stride for their new head coach at a stadium he knows very well.

FA Cup History Look Good

The result made for an in the end routine night's work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is still done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.