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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined home side fighting for promotion, this presented all the makings of a difficult night's task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager has this city dear to him, given part of his family hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Tigers. This happy association was extended with a magnificent performance from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours after letting slip a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The capacity Hull support evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the challenge with ease.

The manager rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The match might and maybe should have been settled long before it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing excellent opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

But, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to assume control of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

Hull displayed plenty of spirit all game, but the clearer chances always came to the visitors. Estêvão should have opened the deadlock when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the crossbar, and Delap began to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball teed up Neto to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as the forward's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Soon after the second, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to slide into an empty net. Neto then finished his hat-trick as the provider once again delivered the decisive ball for the striker to calmly slot past a helpless goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had long since erased. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out a number of first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong situation in the Championship," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup History Look Promising

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the cup competition signs are good from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the final. Much remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.