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Amid sleet, snow, and a swirling wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s work for the visitors.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the performance," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from both sets of fans. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this place close to his heart, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. His positive connection continued with a magnificent display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The capacity Hull support clearly felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of missing glorious chances to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

However, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take command of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting a trio of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

Hull displayed plenty of spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which bounced back from the bar, and Delap started to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, providing three key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his pass set up Neto to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as the forward's set-piece went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as Delap once again played the crucial pass for the striker to coolly slot by a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the first half-hour had long since forgotten. Their focus must now return to securing a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of key players with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive example of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging step forward for their new head coach at a place he is familiar with very well.

Cup Omens Look Good

The result made for an in the end routine night's work, and the cup competition signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other occasions in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to reach the final. Much still done in that regard, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.