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Against a backdrop of sleet, snow, and a biting breeze off the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I’m very pleased with the performance," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the lads was superb."

Liam Rosenior holds this city close to his heart, considering some of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. His positive connection was extended with a commanding performance from his team, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The capacity Hull crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The match might and maybe should have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for spurning glorious chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to assume control of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

The home side displayed plenty of spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which bounced off the bar, and he began to run away thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from there on out, registering three key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass set up his teammate to finish 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 Focus Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent run from the forward laid on Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then completed his treble as Delap again delivered the decisive pass for the attacker to calmly slot by a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had long since erased. Their priority must now return to securing a promotion to the top division under their manager, who rested several first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next 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 late goal when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive step forward for their new manager at a place he knows very well.

Cup Omens Are Promising

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to make the final. Much remains to be done in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.