🔗 Share this article

Amid freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind from the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side fighting for promotion, this had all the ingredients of a challenging night's work for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I am very pleased with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good reception from the fans of fans. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, given some of his family are from Hull and his successful period in management of the Tigers. This happy association was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comprehensive Victory

Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home crowd clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match might and maybe should have been settled long before it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the catalyst for Chelsea to take command of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Influence

The home side showed plenty of fight throughout, but the better chances consistently came to the visitors. The winger should have broken the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which bounced off the bar, and Delap started to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, 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 influential from that point onward, registering 3 key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball set up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his hat-trick as the provider once again delivered the decisive pass for the striker to calmly slot past a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had long since erased. Their priority must now return to achieving a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key 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 strong position in the league," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a good example of how we must play."

There was great effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an ultimately routine night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the showpiece. Much still done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.