🔗 Share this article

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

"We might have scored more but Hull 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 good reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

The Rosenior holds this city dear to him, given part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Championship club. His happy association continued with a magnificent performance from his squad, who in the end strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull support clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent chances to put their side in front in the opening period.

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical mood. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take command of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Influence

Hull showed great spirit all game, but the clearer opportunities always fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which came back from the bar, and Delap started to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had responded to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from there on out, registering 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball teed up Neto to score from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent run from Delap laid on his teammate to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap once again delivered the decisive ball for the striker to coolly slot past a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the effort Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had long since erased. Their focus must now return to securing a promotion to the top division under their manager, who rested several key individuals with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good lesson of how we should play."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows very well.

FA Cup History Look Good

The result made for an ultimately straightforward evening’s work, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is remains to be done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.