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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling breeze from the waters of the Humber, combined with a determined home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s work for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a difficult tie; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager has this city dear to him, considering some of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. This positive connection was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Secures Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity home crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side handled the task perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his XI. The match might and maybe should have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range effort, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to assume control of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the clearer chances consistently fell to the visitors. The winger should have broken the deadlock when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. The striker 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 run away thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, registering 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball teed up Neto to finish from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from Delap laid on his teammate to tap into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his hat-trick as Delap once again played the crucial pass for the striker to calmly convert by a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had long since erased. Their priority must now return to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out a number of first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we should play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive step forward for their new head coach at a place he knows intimately.

Cup Omens Are Promising

That resulted in an ultimately routine night's performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. Much remains to be work in that respect, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.