The Portuguese Forward Scores Hat-Trick as The Blues Provide Manager Rosenior with Joyous Homecoming to Hull

Amid sleet, flurries, and a biting wind off the waters of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined Hull City side fighting for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult night's work for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I am delighted with the display," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was superb."

The Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, considering some of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Championship club. His happy connection continued with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

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

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and perhaps ought to have been decided long before it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular distance strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take control of proceedings. By full time, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

Hull showed plenty of spirit all game, but the clearer chances always came to the visitors. Estêvão should have broken the deadlock when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which bounced off the bar, and Delap began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing three key passes. The first was for the first goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from the forward laid on Estêvão to tap 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 stranded Phillips.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the first half-hour had long since forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested several first-choice 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 league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great endeavour to the end, and they almost got a late goal when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Look Good

The result resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this competition in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the showpiece. Much still done in that regard, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.