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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting breeze from the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings 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 delighted with the display," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the players was excellent."

The Rosenior holds this city dear to him, given some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. His positive association continued with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Secures Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity home crowd evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his XI. The match could and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for missing glorious opportunities to put their side in front in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take control of proceedings. By full time, they had four, with Neto netting three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side displayed great spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger should have opened the scoring when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which came off the bar, and Delap began to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to avert the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to finish from outside the box. 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 Attention Turns

Soon after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his hat-trick as Delap again played the crucial ball for the striker to coolly convert by a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice individuals 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 strong situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great effort to the end, and they nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute hit a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows intimately.

Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine evening’s performance, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the final. Much still done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.