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Against a backdrop of sleet, snow, and a biting breeze from the banks of the Humber, combined with a determined home side fighting for promotion, this presented all the makings of a difficult night's task for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult 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 application of the players was superb."

The Rosenior holds this city close to his heart, given some of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. This happy association was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Secures Comprehensive Victory

Three days after letting slip a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed home crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side navigated the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, making seven of them to his XI. The tie might and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning excellent opportunities to put their side ahead in the opening period.

However, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular distance strike, which proved to be the spark for his team to take control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Influence

Hull displayed great spirit throughout, but the clearer chances consistently came to the visitors. The winger ought to have broken the deadlock when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which came back from the bar, and he started to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, providing three key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after the second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his hat-trick as Delap once again delivered the crucial pass for the striker to coolly slot by a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a return to the Premier League under their manager, who left out 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 league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the next matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

Hull showed great endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he knows intimately.

FA Cup History Look Good

The result made for an in the end routine night's performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much still done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.