The Portuguese Neto Fires Hat-Trick as The Blues Deliver Manager Rosenior with Happy Return to Hull

Amid sleet, snow, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I’m very pleased with the display," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from both sets of fans. The attitude of the players was superb."

The Rosenior has this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Tigers. His happy association continued with a commanding performance from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Secures Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing tie. The capacity home crowd clearly sensed it too, but the London side handled the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps ought to have been settled long before it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous long-range strike, which acted as the catalyst for his team to take control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

The home side showed plenty of fight all game, but the better opportunities consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger should 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 former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which came back from the bar, and Delap began to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, registering 3 assists. The first was for the opening goal as his pass set up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as the forward'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 put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from Delap laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his treble as the provider once again played the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly slot past a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the first half-hour had long since forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key players with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the end, and they almost got a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Look Good

The result made for an ultimately routine evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is remains to be done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.