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Amid sleet, snow, and a biting breeze off the waters of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute home side fighting for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult night's work for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was excellent."

The Chelsea manager holds this city close to his heart, considering some of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. His positive association was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Secures Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The capacity Hull crowd evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and maybe should have been settled long before it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for spurning glorious opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to take command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Influence

Hull displayed great spirit all game, but the better opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão should have broken the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the bar, and Delap began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, providing 3 key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass set up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as the forward's set-piece went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Soon after the second goal, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from the forward teed up Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his treble as Delap once again played the decisive ball for the striker to calmly slot by a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key players with that aim in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive example of how we must play."

Hull showed great endeavour to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when a substitute struck a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup Omens Look Promising

That made for an in the end routine night's performance, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the final. Much remains to be work in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.