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Amid sleet, snow, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the lads was superb."

The Chelsea manager holds this city close to his heart, considering some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Championship club. His positive connection continued with a magnificent display from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The capacity Hull crowd evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his XI. The tie could and maybe should have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of missing excellent chances to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a marvellous long-range strike, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward netting a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

The home side showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better opportunities always fell to the visitors. Estêvão should have broken the deadlock when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

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

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from there on out, registering 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up his teammate to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his treble as Delap again delivered the crucial pass for the striker to coolly slot by a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since erased. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who left out several first-choice individuals 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 Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a good example of how we must play."

There was great effort to the final whistle, 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 stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows intimately.

Cup History Are Good

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other occasions in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the final. Much remains to be work in that regard, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.