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Against a backdrop of sleet, snow, and a biting breeze from the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult night's task for the visitors.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I’m delighted with the display," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a good reception from the fans of fans. The attitude of the players was superb."

The Rosenior has this city dear to him, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. This positive connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his team, who in the end strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed home crowd evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and maybe should have been settled long before it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

However, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous distance strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to assume control of proceedings. By full time, they had four, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side showed great spirit throughout, but the better chances always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have broken the deadlock when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which came back from the crossbar, and he began to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass teed up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's set-piece went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from Delap laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his treble as the provider again delivered the crucial ball for the attacker to coolly convert by a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since erased. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who left out a number of first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive example of how we should play."

There was plenty of effort to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Are Promising

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the cup competition signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the final. Much remains to be done in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.