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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined home side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a challenging night's task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the performance," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Rosenior has this place close to his heart, considering part of his family are from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. His positive connection continued with a magnificent display from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed home crowd clearly sensed it too, but the London side handled the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of missing excellent chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He opened the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take command of the match. By full time, they had four, with Neto netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Influence

The home side showed great spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. The winger should have opened the deadlock when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which came back from the crossbar, and Delap began to run away 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 influential from there on out, providing three assists. The first was for the opening goal as his pass set up Neto to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after the second, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his treble as the provider again delivered the crucial pass for the attacker to calmly convert by a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since erased. Their focus must now switch back to securing a promotion to the top division under their manager, who left out a number of key individuals with that goal in mind.

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

There was great effort to the end, and they nearly got a late goal when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

The result made for an ultimately routine evening’s performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this competition in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. Much still done in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.