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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting wind from the waters of the Humber, alongside a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from the fans of fans. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city dear to him, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Championship club. This positive association was extended with a commanding performance from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a two-goal lead in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed home crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match could and perhaps should have been decided long before it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of spurning glorious opportunities to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular distance effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward scoring three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Influence

Hull displayed plenty of fight throughout, but the clearer chances consistently came to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which bounced back from the bar, and Delap started 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 clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, registering three key passes. The first was for the first goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent run from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as Delap again played the crucial ball for the attacker to coolly convert past a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had been erased. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who left out several first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good situation in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was plenty of effort to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a place he knows very well.

Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine evening’s work, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to reach the final. Much remains to be work in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.