🔗 Share this article

Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling breeze from the banks of the Humber, alongside a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging night's work for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a difficult tie; I’m very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a positive reception from the fans of supporters. The application of the lads was excellent."

The Rosenior has this place close to his heart, given some of his family hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Championship club. His happy connection was extended with a commanding performance from his team, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Seals Comfortable Win

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 tie. The packed Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task perfectly.

The manager made alterations, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps should have been decided long before it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of spurning glorious opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous long-range effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull displayed great spirit all game, but the better chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced back from the crossbar, and he started to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to avert 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 opening was for the first goal as his pass set up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent run from the forward laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his treble as Delap again played the decisive ball for the attacker to calmly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since erased. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who left out a number of key players with that aim in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong situation in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging step forward for their new head coach at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup Omens Look Good

That resulted in an in the end routine evening’s performance, and the cup competition omens 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. Much remains to be done in that regard, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.