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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber, alongside a determined Hull City side fighting for promotion, this presented all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell in charge of the Championship club. This happy association continued with a magnificent display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed home support evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of spurning glorious chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He opened the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to assume command of the match. By full time, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Impact

The home side displayed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better opportunities consistently came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have broken the deadlock when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which came off the bar, and Delap started to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the danger.

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 opening goal as his pass teed up Neto to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Soon after the second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling run from the forward laid on his teammate to tap into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap once again played the crucial ball for the striker to coolly convert past a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had long since erased. Their focus must now return to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who rested several key players with that goal 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 good lesson of how we must play."

There was great effort to the final whistle, and they nearly got a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Are Good

That resulted in an in the end straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to make the showpiece. Much remains to be work in that regard, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.