Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting wind off the waters of the Humber, combined with a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a difficult night's task for Chelsea.
"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from the fans of fans. The application of the players was superb."
The Chelsea manager holds this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. His positive connection was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Three days after surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed home support evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task perfectly.
Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his XI. The match might and perhaps should have been settled long before it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning excellent opportunities to put their side ahead in the opening period.
However, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular distance strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to assume control of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.
The home side showed plenty of spirit all game, but the clearer chances always fell to the visitors. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his old team.
He deflected a Phillips's clearance which bounced off the crossbar, and Delap began to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the threat.
The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, registering 3 key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball set up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went directly in under Phillips's legs.
Soon after Neto’s second goal, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent run from the forward teed up his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider once again played the decisive pass for the attacker to coolly convert past a stranded Phillips.
At that point, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been erased. Their priority must now return to achieving a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.
"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a positive example of how we must play."
There was great endeavour to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging stride for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with very well.
The result made for an ultimately routine night's performance, and the cup competition omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the final. There is remains to be work in that regard, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.
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