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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting breeze from the waters of the Humber, alongside a determined home side fighting for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I’m very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a positive reception from the fans of fans. The attitude of the lads was superb."

The Rosenior holds this city dear to him, given part of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. His positive connection continued with a magnificent performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Victory

Three days after letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull support clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task perfectly.

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

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take control of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull displayed great fight all game, but the clearer chances consistently came to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which bounced off the crossbar, and Delap began to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, providing three key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball teed up Neto to finish from range. Shortly after the restart, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling run from Delap teed up his teammate to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as the provider once again delivered the decisive pass for the striker to coolly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key individuals 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 situation in the league," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good lesson of how we must 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' evening, and another positive step forward for their new manager at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward evening’s work, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the final. Much still work in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.