🔗 Share this article

Amid sleet, snow, and a swirling wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a difficult night's work for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

Liam Rosenior has this city dear to him, considering part of his relatives are from Hull and his successful period in management of the Tigers. This positive connection continued with a magnificent performance from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comfortable Win

Three days after letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed Hull support clearly sensed it too, but the London side handled the challenge with ease.

The manager made alterations, making seven of them to his XI. The match could and maybe should have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent chances to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

However, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless mood. He opened the scoring with a marvellous long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to assume control of proceedings. By full time, they had four, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side displayed plenty of spirit all game, but the clearer chances always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably 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 crossbar, and he began to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, providing three assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from range. Shortly after the restart, it was two as Neto's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from the forward teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as the provider once again delivered the crucial pass for the striker to coolly convert by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of 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 situation in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly got a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows intimately.

Cup Omens Look Promising

The result made for an in the end straightforward night's work, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to make the final. There is still work in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.