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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m very pleased with the display," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the lads was superb."

The Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell in charge of the Tigers. This happy connection was extended with a commanding display from his team, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed home support evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of missing excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to take command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

Hull displayed plenty of fight throughout, but the clearer opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the crossbar, and he started to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the danger.

Delap 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 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 corner went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from the forward teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as Delap again delivered the crucial pass for the attacker to coolly convert by a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since erased. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out a number of first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong situation in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

There was plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they nearly got a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their new head coach at a place he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

That resulted in an in the end routine evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to reach the final. Much remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.