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Amid sleet, flurries, and a swirling breeze off the waters of the Humber, alongside a determined home side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a difficult night's task for the visitors.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I’m delighted with the display," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the lads was superb."

The Rosenior has this city dear to him, given some of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable period in management of the Tigers. His happy association was extended with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days after letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed home crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing glorious chances to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to assume control of the match. By full time, they had four, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

Hull displayed plenty of fight throughout, but the better chances consistently came to the visitors. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident 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 believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, providing three assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball set up Neto to finish from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as Delap again played the decisive pass for the striker to calmly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested several key players with that aim in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good situation in the Championship," 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 nearly got a consolation when a substitute struck a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive step forward for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Are Promising

The result made for an in the end straightforward evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is still done in that regard, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.