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Amid sleet, flurries, and a swirling breeze off the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from both sets of fans. The attitude of the players was excellent."

The Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. This positive association was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Secures Comprehensive Victory

Three days after letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed Hull crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side handled the task with ease.

The manager rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and maybe should have been settled long before it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for missing excellent chances to put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

But, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular distance strike, which proved to be the spark for his team to take control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto netting a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull showed great spirit all game, but the better chances always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced off the bar, and he started to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to score from outside the box. Shortly after the restart, it was two as Neto's corner went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to tap into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his hat-trick as the provider once again played the crucial ball for the striker to calmly slot by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had long since erased. Their priority must now return to achieving a promotion to the top division under their manager, who left out several first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good position in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive step forward for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Are Promising

That resulted in an in the end routine night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much still work in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.