🔗 Share this article

Amid sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind off the banks of the Humber, alongside a determined Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I’m very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from the fans of fans. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Rosenior holds this city dear to him, considering part of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable spell in charge of the Tigers. This happy connection was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull crowd clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his XI. The tie could and perhaps should have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular distance strike, which acted as the catalyst for his team to take control of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

Hull showed plenty of fight throughout, but the clearer chances consistently fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have broken the deadlock when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which came back from the bar, and he started to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had responded to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, registering 3 assists. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball set up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as the forward's corner went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as Delap once again delivered the crucial ball for the attacker to coolly convert by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had been erased. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice players with that goal 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 Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great endeavour to the end, and they almost got a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

Cup History Look Good

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the showpiece. Much still done in that respect, but this was another significant tick for the Chelsea boss.