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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for the visitors.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult tie; I am delighted with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

The Rosenior has this city close to his heart, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable spell in charge of the Tigers. This positive connection was extended with a commanding performance from his squad, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Three days after letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity Hull crowd clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his XI. The tie could and maybe ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of spurning glorious chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

However, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which acted as the spark for his team to take command of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

The home side showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better chances consistently fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have broken the deadlock when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass teed up Neto to score from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Soon after the second, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from the forward laid on his teammate to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as Delap once again played the crucial pass for the striker to calmly convert by a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the top division under their manager, who rested a number of key individuals 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 league," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great endeavour to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

The result resulted in an in the end routine evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. Much still work in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.