🔗 Share this article

Amid sleet, snow, and a swirling breeze off the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings 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 welcome from the fans of fans. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Rosenior has this city close to his heart, given part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Championship club. His happy association was extended with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity home support evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps ought to have been decided long before it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

However, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical mood. He opened the scoring with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Influence

Hull displayed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have opened the scoring when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which came off the crossbar, and he began to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, providing three assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to score from outside the box. Shortly after the restart, it was two as the forward's set-piece went straight in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after the second, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from the forward teed up his teammate to tap into an empty net. Neto then completed his hat-trick as the provider again played the crucial pass for the attacker to calmly convert past a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested several key players with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas hit a post in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows intimately.

Cup History Look Promising

The result resulted in an ultimately routine evening’s work, and the cup competition signs 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 gone on to reach the showpiece. Much remains to be done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.