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Amid sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging night's task for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased 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 players was excellent."

Liam Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. His positive association was extended with a commanding performance from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for missing glorious chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to take command of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

Hull showed great fight all game, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão should have opened the deadlock when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the bar, and Delap started to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the threat.

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 his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Soon after the second, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from the forward laid on his teammate to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as Delap once again played the decisive ball for the striker to coolly convert by a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had been erased. Their priority must now return to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out a number of first-choice 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 strong situation in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was great effort to the end, and they almost got a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive step forward for their new manager at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup Omens Are Good

The result made for an ultimately straightforward evening’s performance, and the cup competition omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much remains to be done in that regard, but this was another significant tick for the Chelsea boss.