Pedro Neto Scores Treble as The Blues Provide Liam Rosenior with Joyous Homecoming to Hull

Amid sleet, flurries, and a biting wind from the waters of the Humber, combined with a determined Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a difficult night's work for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from both sets of supporters. The application of the lads was superb."

Liam Rosenior holds this city close to his heart, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Tigers. His positive association was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed home support clearly sensed it too, but the London side handled the challenge with ease.

The manager made alterations, making multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and maybe should have been decided long before it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for missing glorious chances to put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the scoring with a spectacular distance strike, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume control of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

The home side showed great spirit throughout, but the clearer chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which came back from the crossbar, and he started to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, 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 hugely influential from there on out, registering three assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to score from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his hat-trick as the provider again delivered the crucial pass for the attacker to calmly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who left out a number of first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong situation in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a good example of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive step forward for their new head coach at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup History Look Promising

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the showpiece. Much remains to be work in that respect, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.