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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined home side fighting for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The application of the players was superb."

The Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, given some of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Championship club. This happy connection continued with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The capacity Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The match could and maybe ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of missing glorious chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous long-range effort, which acted as the spark for his team to assume command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Impact

The home side showed great fight throughout, but the better chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have broken the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and Delap began to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, registering three key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass set up his teammate to score from outside the box. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap laid on Estêvão to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap once again played the decisive pass for the attacker to coolly convert past a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to achieving a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice individuals 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 Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we must play."

There was great endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost got a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup Omens Are Good

The result made for an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to make the final. Much still done in that respect, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.