The following season, Albion lost in the final of the League Cup to Third Division Queens Park Rangers (losing 3–2 after being 2–0 up at half-time), making an early exit from their first European campaign and struggling to maintain their place in the First Division. Had Hagan had more friends at the Hawthorns, he might have been given time to fix the problems but, in 1967, he was replaced by Alan Ashman. Ashman led Albion to their fifth FA Cup victory in 1968, Astle, now known to fans as 'The King' becoming the first player to score in every round of the competition. After beating Colchester, Southampton, Portsmouth and Liverpool in the earlier rounds, Albion then knocked out rivals Birmingham City 2–0 at Villa Park. They then defeated favourited Everton 1–0 in the final, thanks to an extra-time Astle goal. Albion also defeated the newly crowned European Champions Manchester United 6–3 at the Hawthorns in front of an estimated 55,000 fans. In 1969 Albion again reached the FA Cup semi-finals but narrowly lost out to Leicester City. The following year the club reached the League Cup final again but lost out to Manchester City 2–1. In the same season, Jeff Astle became the first man to score in both an FA Cup and League Cup final. He also finished as the First Division's leading scorer, an achievement matched by his teammate Tony Brown in 1970–71.