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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind off the waters of the Humber, alongside a determined home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s work for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from the fans of fans. The application of the players was excellent."

Liam Rosenior has this place close to his heart, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his successful period in management of the Tigers. His positive connection was extended with a commanding performance from his squad, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days removed from 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 clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, making seven of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of spurning excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

However, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Influence

The home side showed great fight throughout, but the clearer chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded 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 back from the crossbar, and Delap began to run away thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's set-piece went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling run from the forward teed up his teammate to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again played the crucial ball for the striker to coolly slot past a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of key individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute struck a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup Omens Are Promising

That made for an ultimately routine evening’s work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the past ten years 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.