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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a challenging night's work for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m delighted with the display," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the lads was excellent."

The Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, given part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. His happy connection was extended with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull crowd evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match could and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for spurning excellent opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.

However, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to take control of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward netting a trio of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Influence

Hull displayed great spirit all game, but the better opportunities consistently came to the visitors. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the crossbar, and Delap began to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball set up Neto to finish from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from the forward teed up Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his hat-trick as the provider again delivered the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly slot past a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had long since erased. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of key players with that aim in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed great endeavour to the end, and they nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he knows very well.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

The result made for an in the end straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other times in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. There is remains to be done in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.