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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind from the banks of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I am delighted with the performance," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a good welcome from both sets of supporters. The application of the lads was superb."

The Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, given part of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. This positive association continued with a magnificent display from his team, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this intriguing tie. The capacity home crowd clearly sensed it too, but the London side navigated the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The match could and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of spurning excellent opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

However, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless mood. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which proved to be the spark for his team to take command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side showed great spirit throughout, but the clearer chances always fell to the visitors. Estêvão should have broken the scoring when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which bounced off the crossbar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, registering 3 assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling run from the forward laid on his teammate to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again played the crucial pass for the striker to calmly slot past a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had long since erased. Their focus must now return to achieving a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several 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 very good situation in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

There was plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they nearly got a late goal when a substitute hit a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup History Look Good

That resulted in an in the end straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. There is still done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.