Pedro Neto Scores Treble as Chelsea Provide Liam Rosenior with Happy Homecoming to Hull City

Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a difficult night's task for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the lads was superb."

Liam Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in management of the Championship club. His positive association was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The capacity Hull crowd evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and maybe ought to have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of spurning excellent opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.

However, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side displayed great fight all game, but the better opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão should have opened the deadlock when he went past goalkeeper 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 clearance which bounced back from the bar, and he started to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, 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 there on out, providing 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 second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent run from Delap teed up his teammate to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his hat-trick as Delap once again played the decisive pass for the attacker to coolly convert past a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out several first-choice players with that aim in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good position in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we must play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging stride for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup Omens Look Good

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