🔗 Share this article

Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I’m very pleased with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a good welcome from both sets of fans. The attitude of the players was superb."

The Chelsea manager has this city close to his heart, considering part of his relatives are from Hull and his successful period in management of the Championship club. His positive connection continued with a magnificent display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Secures Comfortable Win

Three days removed from letting slip a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The packed Hull crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side handled the task perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, making multiple of them to his XI. The match could and perhaps should have been decided long before it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for spurning excellent chances to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

However, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more ruthless mood. He opened the scoring with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to take control of proceedings. By full time, they had four, with Neto netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull displayed great fight throughout, but the better chances consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have opened the scoring when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which bounced off the bar, and Delap began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to avert the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, registering three assists. The opening was for the first goal as his pass set up Neto to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as the forward's corner went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then completed his hat-trick as the provider again played the crucial ball for the attacker to coolly convert by a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion 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 upcoming games this can be a positive example of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he knows intimately.

Cup History Are Promising

That made for an in the end straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. Much still work in that regard, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.