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Amid freezing rain, snow, and a swirling wind off the banks of the Humber, alongside a resolute home side fighting 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 tie; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from both sets of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

The Rosenior holds this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Tigers. This happy connection was extended with a commanding performance from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed home support clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match could and maybe ought to have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of spurning glorious chances to put their side in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical mood. He opened the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the spark for his team to take control of the match. By full time, they had four, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

Hull displayed great spirit throughout, but the clearer chances always fell to the visitors. The winger should have opened the scoring when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the crossbar, and Delap began to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had responded to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, registering three assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from the forward teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider once again played the decisive ball for the striker to coolly slot past a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the first half-hour had long since erased. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out several first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the end, and they almost claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup Omens Look Good

The result resulted in an ultimately routine evening’s performance, and the cup competition omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other times in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to reach the final. There is remains to be work in that regard, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.