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Amid sleet, flurries, and a biting breeze from the waters of the Humber, combined with a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a difficult night's task 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. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was superb."

The Rosenior has this city dear to him, given some of his family hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. His happy connection was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comfortable Win

Three days after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity Hull support evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to assume control of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side displayed great spirit throughout, but the clearer chances always came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have opened the deadlock when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced back from the bar, and Delap began to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, registering three assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from outside the box. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after the second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again delivered the crucial pass for the attacker to coolly convert past a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several first-choice players with that goal in mind.

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

Hull showed plenty of effort to the end, and they almost claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.