During the war, Brentford took part in the London War Cup, losing in the 1941 final at Wembley Stadium to Reading and winning in the final against Portsmouth the following year later. The club were demoted in the first season after the War, and a downward fall set in, which culminated in demotion to the Third Division in 1953-54 and the Fourth tier of English football in 1961-62. The survival of Brentford Football club was threatened by a projected takeover by Queens Park Rangers towards the end of 1960s - a bid that was only narrowly stopped with an emergency loan of £104,000 - while the club continued to juggle between the third and fourth divisions during the next 3 decades. The club gained promotion in 1962-63, 1971-72 and 1977-78 but only on the final occasion Brentford were able to consolidate its position in English football's third division. Other great moments during this period included reaching the final of the Freight Rover Trophy at Wembley in 1985, where they suffered defeat to Wigan, and a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1989 which included victory's over three higher-division sides and was only ended by the reigning league champions Liverpool.