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Amid freezing rain, snow, and a swirling wind from the banks of the Humber, combined with a resolute Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a difficult night's work for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

The Rosenior has this place close to his heart, given part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. This happy connection continued with a magnificent performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Three days after surrendering a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed Hull support clearly felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for spurning excellent chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

However, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a marvellous distance strike, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

The home side displayed great spirit throughout, but the better chances always fell to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have broken the deadlock when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which came back from the crossbar, and he began to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from Delap laid on Estêvão to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as the provider again delivered the crucial ball for the striker to coolly slot by a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the work Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been erased. Their priority must now return to achieving a return to the top division under their manager, who left out a number of key players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion 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. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they nearly claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he knows very well.

Cup History Look Good

The result resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the final. There is remains to be done in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.