'I thought it went in!' - Chelsea's Liam Delap explains horror miss against Hull after hat-trick of assists

Chelsea cruised into the fifth round of the FA Cup at the MKM Stadium by beating Hull thanks to a hat-trick from Pedro Neto and an Estevao goal. Yet it was a curious night for Delap, who once again failed to find the back of the net. He ought to have scored in the first half but failed to make sure that the ball had gone over the line after blocking a clearance from the goalkeeper. Delap did manage to collect the loose ball and fired at goal but saw his shocked blocked by Phillips. The striker did end the game with three assists but has now managed just two goals in 23 appearances this season for Chelsea and has not scored in his last nine games for the Blues.

Delap admitted afterwards that he was convinced the ball had gone in. He told TNT Sports: "I swear on my life, I almost ran off. I thought it went in. Obviously I was waiting for the ref to blow his whistle. I should have put it in a second time, but it was crazy. Silly from me but I thought it went in."

The miss attracted criticism from pundit and Premier League record goal-scorer Alan Shearer. He told BBC Sport: "Goodness me. What is Delap doing? It is as if he is thinking, 'I have all the time in the world'. He ambles to it and he takes his time. What are you waiting for? Liam Delap has not had a good four minutes. He has given it away twice and missed a sitter. Delap has been poor and he has been given the opportunity tonight. Delap looks very lazy, his performances have to improve."

Delap did manage to recover, going on to grab a hat-trick of assists in the game, which did then earn praise from Shearer afterwards. He added: "Delap recovered well from that start and has been instrumental in the win. He deserves a lot of credit for that."

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior showered Delap with praise for his performance after the game. He told reporters: "Top [performance]. To be a No.9, especially in a system that we play, it's not always about yourself. It's about bringing other people into play. It's about sometimes making sacrifice runs so other players get the space and I thought in terms of, again, he started our press so well. But it's nice in a way that you're singling so many different players out, which means it's a really strong team performance. And from 1-15, I felt it was a really, really strong performance tonight."

Rosenior also spoke about his team's display and explained why he was so impressed with his players. He added: "I think the overall positive thing was the application of the team. I thought our pressing, our intensity, our work rate, and Pedro exemplified that, to be honest. That's why he scores the goals that he does. I'm very lucky to have such talented players. What I'm really realising quickly, not just that they're good players, they're outstanding professionals. I felt it was a really professional performance tonight against a very good team who are pushing for the Premier League. This is not an easy game. Some of our football was everything I want to see, but before that, the values of what the team stood for tonight made me a very happy coach."

Chelsea will discover their fifth-round opponents on Monday when the draw for the next round of the FA Cup is made. In the meantime they will switch focus to their next game against Burnley in the Premier League in a week's time.