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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting wind off the waters of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a difficult night's task for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was superb."

The Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, given part of his family are from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. This happy connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Secures Comfortable Victory

Three days after letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity home support evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and maybe ought to have been decided long before it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for missing excellent chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take control of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Impact

The home side showed plenty of spirit all game, but the better opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. The winger should have broken the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which bounced off the crossbar, and Delap began to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, providing three assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from Delap laid on his teammate to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his hat-trick as the provider again played the decisive ball for the attacker to calmly slot past a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had long since erased. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of key individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive example of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they almost got a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their new head coach at a stadium he knows intimately.

FA Cup Omens Look Good

That made for an in the end straightforward evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. There is still work in that respect, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.