The Portuguese Forward Scores Hat-Trick as The Blues Provide Manager The Boss with Happy Return to Hull City

Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber, alongside a determined Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s work for the visitors.

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

The Rosenior holds this place dear to him, given part of his family are from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Championship club. This positive connection continued with a commanding performance from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Three days removed from surrendering a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The packed Hull support clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for spurning excellent chances to put their side in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless mood. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to take command of proceedings. By full time, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

The home side showed plenty of spirit all game, but the better opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which came back from the crossbar, and Delap started to run away thinking the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from there on out, registering three key passes. The first was for the first goal as his pass teed up Neto to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling run from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap again played the decisive pass for the attacker to coolly convert by a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the first half-hour had long since erased. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of key players with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we must play."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they almost got a consolation when a substitute hit a post in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive stride for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

Cup Omens Look Promising

The result made for an in the end straightforward evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to make the final. Much still done in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.