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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling breeze off the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings of a challenging night's task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I am delighted with the performance," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The application of the players was superb."

The Rosenior has this city close to his heart, considering some of his family hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Championship club. His positive association was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this intriguing tie. The capacity home support evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and perhaps should have been decided long before it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing excellent chances to put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a marvellous distance strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take command of the match. By full time, they had four, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull showed great fight throughout, but the better chances consistently fell Chelsea’s way. The winger should have opened the deadlock when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and Delap began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, 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 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from the forward laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as the provider again played the decisive pass for the striker to calmly slot past a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had long since erased. Their focus must now return to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out several first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the Championship," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed manager at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup History Are Promising

The result made for an ultimately straightforward evening’s work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to reach the final. Much still done in that regard, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.