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Amid sleet, snow, and a biting breeze from the banks of the Humber, alongside a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased with the display," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the lads was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this place close to his heart, given part of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Tigers. This happy association continued with a magnificent performance from his team, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Seals Comfortable Victory

Three days removed from surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull crowd evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, making multiple of them to his XI. The tie could and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for missing glorious chances to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

However, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a marvellous long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take control of the match. By full time, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Impact

Hull displayed plenty of fight all game, but the better opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger should have opened the deadlock when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which came off the crossbar, and Delap began to run away thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, registering three assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after the second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from Delap laid on Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as the provider again delivered the decisive pass for the attacker to calmly slot by a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been erased. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key players with that aim in mind.

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

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute hit a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive stride for their new head coach at a place he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Are Good

The result resulted in an ultimately routine evening’s work, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. Much remains to be work in that regard, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.