🔗 Share this article

Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber, alongside a resolute Hull City side fighting for promotion, this presented all the makings of a difficult night's task for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the performance," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city dear to him, given part of his family hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in management of the Tigers. This happy association was extended with a magnificent performance from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed Hull crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side navigated the challenge with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie could and perhaps should have been settled long before it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent chances to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous distance strike, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume command of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Influence

The home side displayed great spirit all game, but the better chances consistently fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have broken the deadlock when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced back from the crossbar, and he started to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from that point onward, registering three assists. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball set up Neto to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Shifts

Soon after Neto’s second, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from the forward teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. Neto then finished his treble as Delap again played the crucial ball for the striker to calmly convert by a stranded Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice players 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 strong position in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a good example of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the end, and they nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

Cup History Look Good

The result resulted in an ultimately routine evening’s performance, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the final. Much still done in that regard, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.