🔗 Share this article The Portuguese Neto Fires Hat-Trick as The Blues Provide Liam The Boss with Happy Homecoming to Hull Amid freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber, combined with a determined Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging night's task for the visitors. "We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the display," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a good welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the players was superb." Liam Rosenior holds this place close to his heart, considering some of his family hail from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Championship club. This happy connection was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the FA Cup. Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory 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 cup clash. The packed Hull crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side handled the challenge perfectly. Rosenior rang the changes, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and perhaps ought to have been decided long before it eventually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning excellent chances to put their side ahead in the opening period. However, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical mood. He opened the scoring with a marvellous long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul. The Forward's Redemption and Impact Hull showed great spirit throughout, but the clearer chances always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have broken the scoring when he went past keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his old team. He deflected a Phillips's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to clear the danger. The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went directly in under Phillips's legs. Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts Seven minutes after the second, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling run from the forward laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his hat-trick as Delap again played the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly convert by a stranded Phillips. At that point, the effort Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who left out a number of first-choice individuals with that goal in mind. "In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong situation in the Championship," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we should play." Hull showed great endeavour to the end, and they nearly claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a place he is familiar with intimately. FA Cup History Look Good The result resulted in an in the end straightforward night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this competition in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. There is remains to be work in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.