Hull City 0 - 4 Chelsea

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Hull City 0 - 4 Chelsea

26 September, League Cup, KC StadiumA much-changed Chelsea side featuring Scott Sinclair breezed past Hull City in the League Cup, picking up the club's first win under Avram Grant.The win was the first by Chelsea in all competitions to finish with the League Cup holders winning by more than a single goal since April, and progress in the cup was a welcome tonic to a difficult week for the West London team.The game was always a tight encounter with Hull pressing Chelsea all the way, but Premier League class shone through and Chelsea's youthful-looking side battled through the set up a fourth-round tie with Leicester City at Stamford Bridge.Jay-Jay Okocha, formerly of Bolton Wonders, proved to be Hull's most likely route to goal, coming close on a number of occasions with several excellent free-kicks, but a double from the ever-dangerous Salomon Kalou and first Chelsea goals from Steven Sidwell and youngster Scott Sinclair brushed aside the Championship side with ease.Carlo Cudicini made his first appearance of the season, and Juliano Belletti was brought in at right-back for the Premier League side. Sidwell made his first start of the month and was joined in midfield by the impressive Wright-Phillips. Claudio Pizarro earned a recall after being left on the bench against Manchester United at the weekend. Wayne Bridge made his return from injury with a second-half substitution. Chelsea dominated the opening exchanges, with Hull goalkeeper Myhill making good saves from Sidwell and a close range shot from Kalou, but from a succession of corners in the space of four minutes, Chelsea found it difficult to break down the defence of the home side.With 37 minutes on the clock, Shaun Wright-Phillips, whose pace had caused no end of problems to the Hull defence, drove in a low cross to the unmarked Sinclair. The young English striker had peeled away from his marker, and met Wright-Phillips' cross with a fierce low drive that went through the legs of a defender and beyond the despairing dive of Myhill.Three minutes after the restart, Pizarro beat his marker and raced to the near post. With a clever chip into the air, he beat the goalkeeper, leaving Kalou free to head home his first goal of the season. Four minutes later, Steven Sidwell put the game beyond all doubt with a brilliant swerving effort from distance. Picking the ball up from Essien, the English midfielder launched a fierce drive into the roof of the net. Myhill got a hand to the shot, but the effort was too hot to handle and Chelsea had a foot in the next round.Kalou wrapped up a deadly display with the best goal of the four. Following intense pressure from the home side who were intent on a consolation prize, Joe Cole's introduction added a new complexion to the game, and the England winger cut inside and his low cross was met by a shot from Salomon Kalou, who hit the ball left-footed and curled it into the corner of the goal, leaving the Hull backline bamboozled.Hull: Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Delaney (Dawson 53), Okocha, Ashbee, Livermore, Elliott (Garcia 53), McPhee, Pedersen (Featherstone 73).Subs Not Used: Woodhead, Hughes. Booked: Brown. Chelsea: Cudicini, 6 Belletti, 7, Terry, 6, Ben Haim, 6, Ashley Cole, 6, Wright Phillips, 7, Sidwell, 7, Essien, 6, Kalou, 8, Pizarro, 7, Sinclair, 7Subs Used: Makelele, 6, Bridge, 6, Joe Cole7Subs Not Used: Hilario, ShevchenkoAtt: 23,543 Ref: Chris Foy