The Portuguese Forward Scores Hat-Trick as The Blues Deliver Liam The Boss with Happy Homecoming to Hull

Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber, combined with a determined home side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the performance," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the lads was excellent."

The Chelsea manager holds this place close to his heart, considering part of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. This positive association was extended with a magnificent performance from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comprehensive Victory

Three days removed from surrendering a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull support evidently felt it too, but the London side handled the task perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and maybe ought to have been settled long before it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of spurning excellent chances to put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the scoring with a spectacular distance strike, which acted as the catalyst for his team to assume control of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting a trio of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

Hull showed plenty of fight throughout, but the clearer opportunities consistently fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have opened the scoring when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a Phillips's clearance which came off the bar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as the forward's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from the forward laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider once again played the crucial ball for the striker to coolly convert by a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had long since erased. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out several first-choice individuals 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 situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive example of how we should play."

Hull showed great effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a place he knows intimately.

Cup Omens Are Promising

The result made for an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to make the final. Much remains to be done in that regard, but this was another huge tick for Rosenior.