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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a biting breeze from the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m delighted with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager has this city dear to him, given part of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. His positive connection was extended with a commanding performance from his team, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a two-goal lead in the league, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and maybe should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take command of proceedings. By full time, they had four, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Impact

Hull displayed great spirit throughout, but the better opportunities consistently fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and he started to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, registering 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass set up his teammate to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as the forward's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as the provider once again played the decisive ball for the attacker to calmly convert past a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of key players with that aim in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, 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 nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Are Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is still work in that respect, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.