The Portuguese winger put us ahead with a strike from the edge of the penalty area shortly before half time, before doubling our advantage early into the second period with a corner-kick that evaded everyone in the box and ended in the net.

After Estevao Willian had scored our third with a fine strike from a Liam Delap pullback, Neto completed his hat-trick with a neat finish into the bottom corner.

‘Really pleased,’ the Portugal international said after our victory. ‘I think the mentality of the team was amazing. We came to a tough place, winning 4-0 away. This competition is really tough. So we are really happy to go through to the next round.

‘To be honest, on the second goal, I was in doubt if it was mine or not. At the end of the game, I went to the referee and asked whether it was a hat-trick or not. Did I have the right to the ball? He said, "Yeah, yeah, you have the right!"

'But most of all, I'm happy that we went through. We did an unbelievable performance against a tough team away and I think it's a well-deserved win.’

Our second goal of the evening was originally attributed to Jorrel Hato, but replays confirmed the Dutch defender did not touch Neto's inswinging corner, which nestled in the net having gone through the legs of Hull goalkeeper Dillon Phillips.

There was no need for Neto to take a second look, though, thanks to the honesty of his Blues team-mate.

Neto explained: ‘Jorrel said to me, "It’s your goal, I didn’t touch the ball!!" I didn't celebrate a lot of the goal because I didn't notice; there was a lot of confusion. But in the end, I'm really happy it was. I'm really happy to score three goals, but most of all happy that the team went through.’

The hat-trick was the 25-year-old's first of his career, but while pleased with how the Blues played on Humberside, he expressed his desire to continue working on the finer margins to make sure we keep improving as a team.

‘It's my first senior hat trick,’ he confirmed. ‘So we'll have a party tonight! ‘It means a lot. I will continue to work hard to give the fans and my teammates happiness and more goals like this. So I’m really happy.

‘We have to keep winning, but first of all, we have to keep improving. I think there are more details that can take us to the next step. So we are really working hard on that.’