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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a swirling breeze off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side fighting for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city close to his heart, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Championship club. His positive association was extended with a magnificent performance from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull crowd clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match could and perhaps ought to have been decided long before it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of missing excellent chances to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical mood. He opened the scoring with a marvellous long-range strike, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Influence

The home side displayed great spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently came to the visitors. Estêvão should have opened the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which came off the crossbar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, registering 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass teed up Neto to finish from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap again played the decisive pass for the striker to calmly convert past a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the first half-hour had long since erased. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested 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 very good position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was great endeavour to the end, and they almost claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine night's work, 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 on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. Much remains to be done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.