The Portuguese Forward Fires Treble as The Blues Deliver Manager The Boss with Happy Homecoming to Hull

Amid freezing rain, snow, and a swirling breeze off the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side fighting for promotion, this presented all the ingredients of a difficult night's task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I am very pleased with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was excellent."

The Rosenior has this place dear to him, considering some of his family are from Hull and his successful period in charge of the Championship club. This happy connection was extended with a magnificent performance from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Edge Secures Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed Hull support evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps should have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning glorious chances to put their side ahead in the first half.

However, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical mood. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to take control of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Impact

The home side displayed plenty of fight all game, but the better opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced off the crossbar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, registering 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to tap into an empty net. Neto then completed his treble as Delap again played the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly convert by a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening half-hour had long since forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested 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 Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

There was plenty of effort to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging step forward for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with intimately.

FA Cup Omens Are Promising

The result made for an in the end straightforward night's work, and the cup competition omens are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the final. There is still work in that regard, but this was another huge tick for the Chelsea boss.