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Against a backdrop of sleet, snow, and a biting breeze off the banks of the Humber, combined with a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am very pleased with the display," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a good welcome from both sets of fans. The attitude 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 period in charge of the Championship club. This positive association was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Secures Comfortable Victory

Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The capacity home crowd evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of spurning glorious chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the spark for his team to take control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

Hull displayed great fight throughout, but the clearer opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, registering 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Turns

Soon after the second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as Delap once again delivered the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly slot past a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who rested a number of first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good situation in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

There was plenty of effort to the end, and they nearly got a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he knows very well.

Cup Omens Look Good

The result resulted in an ultimately routine night's performance, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. There is remains to be work in that regard, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.