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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a biting breeze from the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a difficult tie; I am delighted with the performance," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a positive reception from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Rosenior has this place close to his heart, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. His happy connection continued with a magnificent performance from his team, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The packed Hull support clearly sensed it too, but the London side navigated the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his XI. The match might and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

But, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless mood. He opened the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to take command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Impact

Hull displayed great spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced back from the bar, and he started to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, providing three key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling run from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as the provider again delivered the crucial pass for the attacker to coolly convert past a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been erased. Their priority must now return to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of key individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think 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. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the end, and they almost got a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive stride for their new head coach at a place he knows very well.

Cup History Look Good

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.