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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling breeze from the waters of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I am delighted with the performance," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

The Rosenior holds this city close to his heart, considering part of his family hail 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 strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Secures Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed Hull support clearly felt it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The tie could and maybe ought to have been decided long before it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of missing excellent chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

However, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to assume control of proceedings. By full time, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

Hull displayed great spirit all game, but the better chances always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger should have opened the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and he began to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, providing three assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass teed up Neto to finish from range. Shortly after the restart, it was two as the forward's corner went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then completed his hat-trick as the provider again played the decisive pass for the attacker to calmly slot by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first half-hour had long since erased. Their focus must now switch back to securing a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

Hull showed great endeavour to the end, and they almost got a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup Omens Are Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine night's performance, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is still work in that regard, but this was another significant tick for the Chelsea boss.