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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling breeze from the waters of the Humber, combined with a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging night's task for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I’m very pleased with the display," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was superb."

The Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, given part of his family are from Hull and his enjoyable period in management of the Championship club. His happy association was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comfortable Win

Three days removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed Hull support clearly sensed it too, but the London side navigated the challenge with ease.

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

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to assume control of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Influence

The home side displayed great spirit all game, but the better chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger should have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably 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 bounced off the bar, and Delap started to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, registering three assists. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball set up Neto to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling run from Delap laid on his teammate to tap into an empty net. Neto then completed his hat-trick as Delap again played the crucial pass for the attacker to calmly slot by a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had been erased. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a return to the top division under their manager, who left out several key players 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," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive example of how we should play."

There was great endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost got a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have gone on to reach the final. There is still done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.