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Against a backdrop of sleet, snow, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the makings of a challenging night's work for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I am very pleased with the display," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from both sets of fans. The attitude of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, considering some of his family are from Hull and his enjoyable spell in charge of the Tigers. His happy association continued with a commanding display from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Secures Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed home support evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge with ease.

The manager made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and perhaps should have been decided long before it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to assume control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto netting a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

The home side displayed plenty of spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities always came to the visitors. The winger should have broken the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the bar, and Delap started to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had responded to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, registering 3 assists. The first was for the opening goal as his pass set up his teammate to score from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Turns

Soon after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap once again played the crucial pass for the striker to calmly slot by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had long since erased. Their focus must now return to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out a number of key players with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position in the league," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Look Promising

The result made for an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is still done in that respect, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.