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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the makings of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the display," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a good reception from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Rosenior has this place close to his heart, considering part of his relatives are from Hull and his successful period in management of the Championship club. This positive association was extended with a commanding performance from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home crowd evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his XI. The match could and maybe should have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of missing excellent chances to put their side in front in the first half.

However, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to take command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull showed plenty of fight throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão should have opened the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which came back from the crossbar, and he started to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, registering three key passes. The first was for the first goal as his pass teed up Neto to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as Neto's corner went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the tie 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 crucial ball for the attacker to calmly convert past a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who left out several key individuals with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the league," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive example of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

Cup Omens Look Good

That made for an ultimately routine night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other times in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is still work in that regard, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.