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Amid sleet, flurries, and a biting breeze off the banks of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the display," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a good reception from the fans of supporters. The application of the lads was superb."

The Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, given part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in management of the Tigers. His positive connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Secures Comfortable Win

Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity Hull support clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps ought to have been decided long before it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a marvellous distance strike, which acted as the spark for his team to assume control of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

Hull showed great spirit throughout, but the better opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which came off the bar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, providing three assists. The first was for the opening goal as his pass set up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as Neto's corner went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from the forward teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then completed his hat-trick as Delap again delivered the decisive ball for the attacker to calmly convert by a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had long since erased. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who rested several 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 strong position in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly got a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Look Good

That resulted in an in the end routine evening’s performance, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is still work in that regard, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.