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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind off the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The application of the players was excellent."

The Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. This positive connection was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity Hull support evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting seven of them to his XI. The tie could and perhaps should have been settled earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for spurning glorious chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He opened the scoring with a marvellous distance strike, which acted as the spark for his team to assume command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Impact

Hull displayed plenty of fight throughout, but the clearer opportunities always fell to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced back from the crossbar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 key passes. The first was for the first goal as his through ball set up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from Delap teed up Estêvão to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider once again delivered the decisive pass for the attacker to coolly slot past a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the first half-hour had long since erased. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a return to the top division under their manager, 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," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging stride for their new head coach at a stadium he knows very well.

Cup Omens Are Good

That made for an ultimately straightforward evening’s performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. Much still work in that regard, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.