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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting breeze from the banks of the Humber, alongside a resolute Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from both sets of fans. The application of the players was excellent."

The Chelsea manager has this city dear to him, given part of his family are from Hull and his enjoyable period in management of the Championship club. This happy association continued with a magnificent performance from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home support clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting seven of them to his XI. The match might and perhaps should have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing excellent opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless mood. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take control of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of spirit all game, but the better opportunities always fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have broken the deadlock when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced back from the bar, and he began to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, registering 3 assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up Neto to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as the forward's set-piece went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Soon after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from the forward laid on his teammate to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his hat-trick as the provider again played the decisive ball for the striker to calmly slot past a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had done in the first half-hour had been erased. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key players with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good position in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

Hull showed great endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive stride for their new manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

Cup Omens Are Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine evening’s performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is still done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.