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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling breeze off the banks of the Humber, combined with a determined Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m very pleased with the performance," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a good welcome from the fans of fans. The application of the players was superb."

The Chelsea manager holds this city dear to him, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Tigers. His happy connection continued with a commanding display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but the London side handled the task with ease.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for spurning glorious chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical mood. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to assume command of the match. By full time, they had four, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull displayed plenty of spirit all game, but the better chances always fell to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which came off the bar, and he began to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had responded to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing 3 key passes. The first was for the first goal as his pass teed up Neto to finish from range. Shortly after the restart, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from the forward laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his treble as the provider again delivered the decisive ball for the attacker to coolly convert past a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the first half-hour had been forgotten. Their focus must now return to securing a promotion to the top division under their manager, who rested several key players 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 situation in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive stride for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup History Are Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is still work in that respect, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.