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Against a backdrop of sleet, snow, and a swirling breeze off the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging evening’s task for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a difficult tie; I am very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of fans. The application of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Championship club. His positive association was extended with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Three days after surrendering a two-goal lead in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed home crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been settled long before it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward guilty of missing excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the opening period.

However, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the spark for his team to assume control of the match. By full time, they had four, with Neto netting a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

The home side showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently came to the visitors. The winger should have opened the deadlock when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

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

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from there on out, registering 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball set up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second goal, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as Delap once again played the crucial ball for the striker to calmly slot by a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had long since erased. Their focus must now switch back to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of key players with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly got a consolation when a substitute struck a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he knows very well.

FA Cup History Look Good

The result resulted in an ultimately routine night's performance, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to make the final. There is remains to be work in that respect, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.