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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a good welcome from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was superb."

The Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, given some of his family hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Tigers. His happy connection continued with a commanding performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal lead in the league, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed Hull support clearly felt it too, but the London side handled the task with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical mood. He opened the scoring with a marvellous distance strike, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Influence

Hull displayed great spirit all game, but the clearer chances always came to the visitors. The winger should have broken the scoring when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which came off the bar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, registering three key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up Neto to finish from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after the second goal, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to slide into an empty net. Neto then completed his treble as the provider again delivered the crucial pass for the attacker to coolly convert by a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had done in the first half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to achieving a promotion to the top division under their manager, who left out several first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

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

There was great effort to the final whistle, and they almost got a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he knows very well.

FA Cup History Look Good

That made for an in the end straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition omens are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to make the showpiece. Much still work in that respect, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.