In the same season, Chelsea were knocked out of the FA Cup by Second Division Leyton Orient despite having led 2–0, and lost in the League Cup final to underdogs Stoke City. The 1972–73 season began with a 4–0 win over Leeds and the club were fourth in the table in December, but after a 3–0 aggregate loss to Norwich City in the League Cup semi-finals the season fizzled out and Chelsea won just 5 of their last 21 league games, eventually finishing 12th. They finished 17th the following season. The feud between Sexton and Osgood and Hudson reached its apogee after a 4–2 home defeat to West Ham United on Boxing Day 1973, after Chelsea had led 2–0 at half-time; the pair were both sold a few months later. Sexton himself was sacked early into the 1974–75 season after a poor start, and succeeded by his assistant, Ron Suart, who was unable to reverse the club's decline and they were relegated in 1975.