Here’s Aaron Bower’s match report from East Yorkshire.
From Sky reporter Sanny Rudravajhala, on X: “A second announcement at Hull City - Chelsea that discriminatory language will not be tolerated, CCTV is in action and arrests will be made.”
Liam Delap spoke to TNT: ““We came here with one task and that was to win. We showed we can battle and also play some good football, so we are happy.
“Pedro Neto is an incredible player. He is playing in a position he is not even used to but he showed his quality.
“I swear on my life I almost ran off, I thought it went in and was waiting for the referee to blow his whistle. It was silly from me but I thought it was in.
“We have our ways of applying pressure from corners. We have been so close a few times and always nice to see them go in.”
Pedro Neto, matchball owner, spoke to the BBC: “I think the most important one is enjoy it. I think if we enjoy and we are with the right attitude and the pitch, we give no chances. So this is what we did today. We play a really good football against a really tough team and we are really up with it. Get through as well. Lots to compete for, lots still to go this season.
“In terms of confidence, and in terms of going forwards in the match, and like I said, we are a really positive team, we want to continue to work, and winning is really important as well.”
Worth mentioning is that Liam Delap, for all his first-half issues in front of goal, got a hat-trick of assists.
Michael Hunt gets in touch: “ Is it unfair to point out that Chris Sutton was signed as a promising English prospect from a relegated team to offer a different and more direct approach up front for Chelsea, given the nine shirt, managed to scuff a goal against a poor continental opponent in his second game, and of his remaining two goals that season he at least managed to get one in a walkover against Hull in the FA Cup? Poyet got a hat-trick from midfield in that Hull match too.”
Ian Maddison is here all week: “Hope Delap managed to find a seat in the Chelsea dugout. With his degree of accuracy tonight he’ll have fallen between two.”
Full-time: Hull 0-4 Chelsea
Pedro Neto’s hat-trick, including a goal from a corner, means Chelsea are the first team in the fifth round draw. A happy return for Liam Rosenior. His team were in full control.
90+2 min: Lewis Koumas has a late chance, and improvises a shot that looks to be creeping in, and Sanchez makes a fine fingertip save. Then Gelhardt almost lumbers through.
90+1 min: Acheampong sees glory and shoots from distance. Way over.
90 min: Shim Mheuka tries to bulwark his way through but loses the ball just as three more minutes are added on.
89 min: Darren Cann, former ref, is on the BBC, is saying refs have to play the correct time added on as people have had a bet on the game. Joe Gelhardt clatters into Hato, gets booked and a flea in his ear from Enzo Fernandez.
87 min: Liam Delap goes off, having made a much better fist of the second half than the first. Shim Mheuka comes on.
86 min: Derry makes a gallop up front only for Neto, with his job done, to check back. Derry then shows some nice skill down in the corner. Clearly some talent there.
84 min: Chelsea seeing out time, though the likes of Jesse Derry will fancy making something out of the dying embers.
82 min: Late flurry from Hull, with Ryan Giles forcing a toed save from Robert Sanchez. Hull fail to make much of the corner, which is hacked away by Liam Delap.
80 min: James Bolle gets in touch: “I spent some time in Hull this summer before watching Oxford play there. There was much to like... Old Town and Humber St in particular and the Jaffa Cake gelato from a restaurant there. Not what this southerner expected at all. Might be different on a snowy night in February, mind.”
Yes, Hull is underrated. Good people, good buildings. There must have been a reason Phil Larkin liked it…. Great accent, too. Enjoyed by Lou Reed, who loved Mick Ronson’s accent. True fact.
78 min: Nice pass from young Derry, sending Acheampong into space though the ball into the centre can’t find Delap to complete his redemption arc.
77 min: Kyle Joseph and Cody Drameh on for Hull, Coyle and Hirakawa off.
76 min: Garnacho is wasteful again, his passing giving Estevao little to work with for his last action of the game. Jesse Derry coming on, as Wes Fofana goes off, and Tosin comes on,
73 min: Two youngters coming on, Jesse Derry for his Chelsea debut, son of Shaun Derry, QPR legend, last seen as Wolves’ set-piece coach, assisting Gary O’Neil, now of Strasbourg. It’s all connected…
Goal! Hull 0-4 Chelsea (Neto, 71, hat-trick)
The Housemartins it is! Delap’s hold-up play is excellent, Neto’s finish is low and venomous.
Updated
70 min: Chelsea really comfortable here. A few of them, Delap and Garnacho especially, might fancy a goal to answer the critics.
68 min: Peter Oh drops in the first Paul Heaton mention of the game: “The current score of Hull 0 London club 3 flies in the face of the Housemartins’ debut album from way back in 1986. Given all of the insanity in modern football and the wider world, it’s a timely reminder for everyone to Think for a Minute.”
Been a happy hour for Chelsea, it’s true.
66 min: Phillips almost repeats his mistake for Neto’s corner, saving the ball with his knees. Sarr, the Chelsea player, an African champion, stops the ball being released and picks up a cheap booking.
66 min: Delap makes another run down the right-hand channel; Rosenior seems to like him in that inside-right role. He forces a corner.
64 min: Hadziahmetovic departs, for John Lundstram. Joe Geldhart, once of Leeds, comes on for Canada’s Liam Miller.
62 min: Turning into an enjoyable trip for Chelsea. Fish and chips later? High quality in Hull.
60 min: That’s Estevao’s seventh goal for Chelsea. Liam Rosenior makes two changes: James and Caicedo off, Enzo Fernandez and Josh Acheampong on. Those were pre-planned before the goal.
Hull 0-3 Chelsea (Estevao, 59)
Better from Delap, a surging run, down the channels, cutting inside and then holds his nerve to set up Estevao to crash home.
Updated
58 min: Estevao clears the second ball from a wasted Hull corner. Chelsea in full control at the moment.
57 min: Probably difficult for Hull to not think of next Saturday, and the home visit of QPR. That’s a big game.
56 min: Garnacho tries to rectify his mistake, and shoots. It’s not enough to beat Phillips. The enigma remains enigmatic.
54 min: The ball breaks for Garnacho to make a long run into Hull territory, lots of space, and then…he passes it straight to an amber shirt.
53 min: Reminder that Chelsea were two goals up on Tuesday. It takes Caicedo’s reading of the situation to cut off a ball meant for Koumas. Everyone else was napping.
Goal! Hull 0-2 Chelsea (Neto, 51)
Phillips made a mess of that. Neto has scored an olimpico, straight from a corner, swerving it in, and beyond everyone, and through the Hull keepers’ legs.
Updated
50 min: Neto goes to the byline, Andrey Santos climbs highest and Dylan Philips make a a fine save. Corner…
49 min: Delap drops back and wins the ball in midfield, James gives it to Estevao who also had an indifferent first half. Reece James has been tucked inside, his versatility being used by his manager. The snow has abated for now.
47 min: Chelsea look to build on their advantage. Liam Delap makes a good run to receive and distribute. Some vital minutes ahead for him, perhaps.
Second half begins
46 min: We are back away, and Guy Mowbray is mentioning Boothferry Park and Keith Edwards in the BBC commentary. Two names to conjure with. The old Hull ground was a relic of a golden age.
Updated
Stephen McCrossan gets in touch: “Disinterested (and fairly bored) Celtic fan here - Garnacho really is the epitome of the kind of player who, if he played for your team, would drive you round the twist isn’t he? Clearly got talent but either thinks he’s better than he is or has just been lucky to play with two big clubs. Or maybe just duff?”
In 2023, I’d have said he was a top talent. I’m not so sure now.
It’s Wrexham 1-0 Ipswich in Friday’s other FA Cup game, the goal scored by Josh Windass, scion of Hull royalty, of course.
Martyn Lunn gets in touch: “Pearling pas: knitting the play together? Then I came across ‘genital pearling’ - not for me clive. Have a good one.”
Half-time: Hull 0-1 Chelsea
Hull close the half in possession, which has been rare as Chelsea stepped up the possession and chance creation. Pedro Neto’s goal separates the teams when it might have been more. Liam Delap may wish to forget that half.
45 min: Reece James takes the corner, and Philips takes it well, and Neto is booked for a tactical foul on Hirakawa’s escape. One minute added on.
44 min: Hull may fancy holding on to this scoreline until half-time. Chelsea win a corner.
43 min: Hull stuck to their task but eventually fell victim to allowing too many chances fall to Chelsea. If Delap and Garnacho look like they have decided to play in brogues, Neto has been a cut above, and made up for that earlier miss.
41 min: That was a fine goal, a piece of quality, and probably the most difficult chance of the many Chelsea have had. Neto has such talent, though it can flicker.
Goal! Hull 0-1 Chelsea (Neto, 40)
Neto whips one in with his outstep, lovely cross. Garnacho is more interested in a dive. But the ball comes back out, and Delap lays up Neto to take a step, and then shoot.
Updated
39 min: Hadziahmetovic does well to send away Millar but James stands tall. He’s not a player easily beaten on physique.
38 min: Hull go on the counter, Hirakawa attacking at speed, only for Hato to do well in making the interception. Caicedo’s radar is ropey as he tries to find James, but they misread each other. Chelsea doing what they do too often, going right off the boil.
36 min: Garnacho has a dig, and the shot is blocked. Good organisation, Hull are being, well, Tigerish, in defence.
34 min: Andrey Santos stabs a ball forward but Hull’s defenders are reading the Chelsea’s forwards movement for the moment.
32 min: Simon Lane gets in touch: “Chelsea fan here, the way things are going I’m praying for more snow so the game gets called off. There’s no way we can defend this badly and miss chances like that without living to regret it.”
Hull have stuck to their task. Chelsea’s current form is shown by Liam Delap shanking a clearance into the Hull skyline. Has he put the wrong boots on?
Updated
30 min: Alan Shearer on the BBC comms, was incandescent with rage that Delap didn’t follow the ball in from that Phillips mistake.
29 min: Liam Delap is having a tough few minutes. Looked such a talent at Ipswich, and against Chelsea, too. The step up has not been easy, though he is a) young and b) has had untimely injuries.
27 min: Good chances at both ends, mostly via opponents’ errors. Liam Rosenior has taken off his glasses which reflects the visibility on offer.
25 min: Ian Maddison gets in touch: “Brazil have had Ronaldo and now they have Spoonaldo.”
Mark Cassidy gets in touch: “17th minute: What, in the sweet name of Jesus, is a pearling pass. Good Lord!”
It means it’s a good pass, Mark. It’s a metaphor. As Elvis Costello had it: “Diving for dear life, when we could be diving for pearls.”
24 min: The snow is coming down, and Liam Delap at least sees the funny side. A joke is shared with Paddy McNair.
22 min: Oh my, how do Chelsea not score? Liam Phillips, the Hull keeper, drops a rick, and that means an open goal for Liam Delap. The goal gapes but Delap deliberates and somehow the ball is cleared. That was poor from Delap, who had done the good work in blocking the kick, and he must have thought the ball was in. And yet…
21 min: Neto dithers as he sets off for goal, and is robbed by Slater. The two clash afterwards, and the ref has to stop them being so silly.
20 min: Tim Smith gets in touch: “Absolutely loving those comedy “shin” pads that Lewis Koumas is wearing. I mean, really, what’s the point? I know they are probably still mandated, but when they get this minuscule, surely the rule needs a looking at?”
Updated
18 min: This is more open than Liam Rosenior will be happy with. And the weather is rotten. Giles down the left has been the Hull danger man.
17 min: Chelsea open up Hull. Estevao controls a pearling pass from Caicedo, takes it down, turns and blams over. A bad miss. And worse, it’s started snowing in Hull.
16 min: Hull chance, Giles whips the ball in, and McCarthy goes close.
15 min: Acun Ilıcalı, Hull’s owner, looks on. He’s in a big coat, an expensive one. No t-shirt for him, like Evangelos Marinakis.
13 min: John Egan, of Ireland, and Paddy McNair, of Northern Ireland, are both having to be on their mettle. Both have plenty of experience. There was a time when McNair was a big prospect at Manchester United; he’s had a decent career, mind.
11 min: Chelsea assume full control of the ball. Estevao gets the ball in the box but his backheel finds a Tiger shirt…..and Koumas comes away, only to lose possession. Reece James dithers, and how close were Hull to scoring? Liam Miller digs the ball from the byline and Koumas cannot make the right connection. Cup football, end to end, marvellous.
Updated
9 min: Garnacho has a huge chance, but Phillips makes a fine save. Neto should score on the rebound, Caicedo set that up. Egan clears hurriedly. A let-off for Hull.
7 min: Liam Rosenior chews gum frantically, Not quite with Fergie fervour, but top-end mastication nonetheless. Hull are at least getting up the field.
5 min: Caicedo lays up Neto, in space, but the shot flies over.
4 min: Good noise from both sets of fans. Garnacho, who has much to prove, is another to make a leftward run. He gets the ball back eventually but his pass is poor.
2 min: Promising signs for Hull as Koumas shows off his skills down the left, and Coyle’s header loops up and lands in Robert Sanchez’s hands. Jason Koumas, Lewis’s dad, was such a talent, one of the great enigmas.
We're underway...
1 min: Good blast of Elvis before kick-off. And we begin with a long goalkeeper punt and a reminder of no VAR. More of a Sun Sessions than Las Vegas man here.
The players take to the field at MKM Stadium. It used to be the KC, and the wind can rattle through the place.
Hull have been a considerable talent school in recent years: Harry Maguire, Jarrod Bowen, Andy Robertson and lately Keane Lewis-Potter have all carved decent careers in the Premier League. Tom Cairney, too.
Liam Rosenior has FA Cup heritage, and played in this Wembley final classic in 2014. City were unlucky in this game, very unlucky.
Joe Pearson gets in touch: “You mentioned how Hull is clearly prioritizing their position in the Championship, rather than this FA Cup tie. I wonder which Championship team is going to send out the weaker side in the other match today between Wrexham and Ipswich. An all ball-boys 22 perhaps?”
The answer is five changes for Wrexham, and 10 for Ipswich.
Seven changes for Chelsea with Cole Palmer, Malo Gusto, Josh Acheampong, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro all stepping down. It still looks a pretty strong team though how cohesive will the starting team be?
Six changes, and with some regret for Hull, with the EFL a clear priority. Not much magic in a selection that drops Ivor Pandur, Charlie Hughes, John Lundstram, Joe Gelhardt, Oli McBurnie and Kyle Joseph.
But let’s see.
Liam Rosenior’s ties to Hull City run deep, as he told the BBC this week: “I’ve got an emotional family connection with the club through my grandma. I used to go up there when I was a little boy. I’m talking four or five years old on summer holidays all the way through. Without that football club, I wouldn’t be here now.
“She was a season ticket holder. She got to see me play there. Sadly she passed away pretty much a year to the day before I joined Hull as manager.”
Now, how does he pronounce the word “soap”?
First thing to say is that Hadziahmetovic will be tonight’s copy and paste player.
The teams
Hull: Phillips, Coyle, Egan, McNair, McCarthy, Giles, Hadziahmetovic, Slater, Hirakawa, Koumas, Millar. Subs: Pandur, Lunstram, Jacob, Drameh, Gerhardt, Joseph, Famewo, Dowell, Tinsdale
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Fofana, Sarr, Hato, Caicedo, Santos, Neto, Estevao, Garnacho, Delap. Subs: Sharman-Lowe, Gusto, Acheampong, Tosin, Badiashile, Fernandez, Derry, Joao Pedro, Mheuka
Last time out for Chelsea showed the slackness that has cost them this season.
Will Unwin dug into Rosenior’s time at Hull.
Rosenior was popular at Hull, appreciated for his hard work as a player and for bringing back hope as a coach after a downturn. Many think he was harshly treated when sacked by the owner, Acun Ilicali, less than two years ago but it inadvertently sent Rosenior upwards.
Preamble
To Hull and back and all that, a familiar journey for Liam Rosenior, well thought of as Tigers manager until he was relieved of his duties in May 2024. The East Yorkshire/Humberside club – choose your local governmenr act – of Kingston upon Hull are riding high in the Championship, fourth place going into this weekend. Sergej Jakirović’s team took only one point from their last two matches or else they might be yet higher in the promotion hunt. He’s the third manager since Rosenior ar a club where turmoil is almost as frequent as it has been at Chelsea. Rosenior’s current team had a Tuesday wobble against Leeds, and that vast squad will be reached into, even if they have eight days off after this tie. Let’s see if the North Sea wind is an ill one or not for the Blues.
Kick-off at 7.45pm UK time: Join me.
