Amid sleet, snow, and a swirling wind off the waters of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging night's task for Chelsea.
"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I’m delighted with the display," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good reception from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the lads was superb."
Liam Rosenior holds this place dear to him, considering some of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. His happy connection was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.
Clinical Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory
Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity Hull crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side handled the task with ease.
Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his XI. The tie could and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for spurning glorious opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.
However, luckily for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take command of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring three of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.
Delap's Redemption and Influence
The home side showed plenty of fight all game, but the better opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.
He deflected a Phillips's kick which bounced off the crossbar, and Delap started to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.
The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, registering 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball teed up Neto to finish from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's set-piece went directly in through Phillips's legs.
Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns
Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a dazzling dribble from Delap laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his treble as the provider again played the crucial pass for the striker to calmly slot by a stranded Phillips.
By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had been erased. Their priority must now return to securing a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out several first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.
"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we must play."
There was great effort to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute struck a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.
FA Cup History Are Good
The result made for an in the end routine night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good 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 still done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.
