The Portuguese Forward Fires Hat-Trick as Chelsea Deliver Liam The Boss with Joyous Return to Hull

Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind off the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the lads was superb."

Liam Rosenior has this city dear to him, considering some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. This happy association was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Secures Comfortable Victory

Three days after surrendering a 2-0 advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed home crowd evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The match might and maybe should have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of spurning glorious chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

However, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to take command of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward netting a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

The home side showed plenty of spirit all game, but the better opportunities consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced back from the bar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball teed up Neto to score from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from the forward laid on his teammate to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as the provider again played the crucial pass for the striker to calmly convert past a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had long since erased. Their focus must now return to securing a promotion to the top division under their manager, who left out several key individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the end, and they almost claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another encouraging step forward for their new head coach at a place he knows very well.

Cup Omens Look Promising

That resulted in an in the end straightforward night's work, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. Much still work in that respect, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.