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Amid freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from both sets of supporters. The application of the lads was superb."

The Rosenior has this place close to his heart, given part of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Tigers. This happy connection continued with a magnificent performance from his team, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity home support evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

However, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical mood. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

Hull showed plenty of fight throughout, but the better chances always came to the visitors. The winger should have opened the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced off 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 responded to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from there on out, providing 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 second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after the second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from Delap laid on his teammate to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as Delap once again delivered the crucial pass for the striker to calmly convert past a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the first half-hour had long since forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who left out several key players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good situation in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive step forward for their new head coach at a place he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup Omens Are Good

The result made for an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the final. Much remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.