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Amid sleet, snow, and a biting breeze off the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined Hull City side fighting for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a difficult night's work for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I am very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a positive reception from the fans of fans. The application of the lads was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. His happy connection was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The match could and maybe should have been settled long before it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for spurning glorious opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

However, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the spark for his team to assume control of the match. By full time, they had four, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

Hull showed plenty of spirit all game, but the better chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which came back from the bar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to avert the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball set up Neto to finish from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's set-piece went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from Delap laid on his teammate to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as the provider again delivered the decisive pass for the striker to calmly slot past a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the first half-hour had been erased. Their focus 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 earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was great endeavour to the end, and they almost got a consolation when a substitute hit a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Look Good

That made for an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much still work in that respect, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.