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1995–96 FA Cup#First round proper

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}

{{Infobox football tournament season

| title = FA Cup

| year = 1995–96

| other_titles =

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| country = England
Wales

| num_teams =

| defending_champions = Everton

| winners = Manchester United

| count = 9

| second = Liverpool

| matches =

| goals =

| scoring_leader = Dave Powell
(9 goals)

| award =

| prev_season = 1994–95

| next_season = 1996–97

}}

The 1995–96 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by Littlewoods for sponsorship reasons) was the 115th staging of the FA Cup. The competition was won outright by Manchester United, who won the final through a goal from Eric Cantona five minutes from the end of the game. It gave Manchester United a league and cup double after they secured their third league title in four years. It was also United's third straight FA Cup Final.

The tournament began with teams from non-league football competing in preliminary and qualifying rounds in order to make it to the competition proper. Details of the qualifying tournament and all the rounds through to the final are available at [http://www.thefa.com/facup FA Cup archives]. Teams from Divisions 1 to 3 entered at the first round, while Premiership teams entered in the third round.

The topscorer in the competition was Dave Powell of Gravesend and Northfleet, who scored 9 goals.

Calendar

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

! Round !! Initial Matches !! New Entries !! Clubs

Preliminary roundSaturday 26 August 1995342575 → 404
First round qualifyingSaturday 9 September 1995117404 → 260
Second round qualifyingSaturday 23 September 1995none260 → 188
Third round qualifyingSaturday 7 October 1995none188 → 152
Fourth round qualifyingSaturday 21 October 199520152 → 124
First round properSaturday 11 November 199552124 → 84
Second round properSaturday 2 December 1995none84 → 64
Third round properSaturday 6 January 19964464 → 32
Fourth round properSaturday 27 January 1996none32 → 16
Fifth round properSaturday 17 February 1996none16 → 8
Sixth round properSaturday 9 March 1996none8 → 4
Semi-finalsSunday 31 March 1996none4 → 2
FinalSaturday 11 May 1996none2 → 1

Qualifying rounds

Most participating clubs that were not members of the Premier League or Football League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 28 places available in the first round.

The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Blyth Spartans, Spennymoor United, Marine, Telford United, Barrow, Northwich Victoria, Colwyn Bay, Witton Albion, Runcorn, Nuneaton Borough, Rushden & Diamonds, Canvey Island, Stevenage Borough, Wisbech Town, Hayes, Burton Albion, Hitchin Town, Bromsgrove Rovers, Slough Town, Kingstonian, Farnborough Town, Bognor Regis Town, Sutton United, Newport (IOW), Gravesend & Northfleet, Dorchester Town, Ashford Town (Kent) and Cinderford Town.

Rushden & Diamonds, Canvey Island, Stevenage Borough and Cinderford Town were appearing in the competition proper for the first time, although the emergence of Rushden & Diamonds sparked an interest in predecessor outfit Irthlingborough Town's unexpected Cup qualification back in 1906-07. Of the others, Colwyn Bay and Burton Albion had not featured at this stage since 1987–88 and Wisbech Town had not done so since 1965-66.

Gravesend & Northfleet completed a seven-round run through this season's tournament, defeating Godalming & Guildford, Molesey, Carshalton Athletic and Marlow to earn their place in the main draw. They then saw off Colchester United and Cinderford Town before going out to Premier League side Aston Villa at Villa Park.

{{for|all qualifying round results|1995–96 FA Cup qualifying rounds}}

First round proper

The 48 teams from the Football League Second and Third Divisions entered in this round along with the 28 non-league clubs from the qualifying rounds and Woking, Kidderminster Harriers, Altrincham and Enfield who were given byes. The round included two clubs from Step 8 of the English football pyramid: Canvey Island from the Isthmian League Second Division and Wisbech Town from the Eastern Counties League Premier Division.

The matches were played on 11 November 1995. There were ten replays, with two ties requiring a penalty shootout to settle them. Fulham's 7–0 victory over Swansea City was an FA Cup record margin of victory against a team from a higher division.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
Tie no

!Home team

!Score

!Away team

!Date

1Blackpool2–1Chester City11 November 1995
2AFC Bournemouth0–0Bristol City11 November 1995
ReplayBristol City0–1AFC Bournemouth21 November 1995
3Barnet2–2Woking (5)11 November 1995
ReplayWoking2–1Barnet21 November 1995
4Barrow (6)2–1Nuneaton Borough (7)11 November 1995
5Burnley1–3Walsall10 November 1995
6Bury0–2Blyth Spartans (6)11 November 1995
7Canvey Island (8)2–2Brighton & Hove Albion12 November 1995
ReplayBrighton & Hove Albion4–1Canvey Island21 November 1995
8Rochdale5–3Rotherham United11 November 1995
9Northwich Victoria (5)1–3Scunthorpe United11 November 1995
10Swindon Town4–1Cambridge United11 November 1995
11Scarborough0–2Chesterfield11 November 1995
12Shrewsbury Town11–2Marine (6)11 November 1995
13Stockport County5–0Lincoln City11 November 1995
14Wycombe Wanderers1–1Gillingham13 November 1995
ReplayGillingham1–0Wycombe Wanderers21 November 1995
15Kidderminster Harriers (5)2–2Sutton United (6)11 November 1995
ReplaySutton United1–1Kidderminster Harriers21 November 1995
colspan=5|Sutton United won 3–1 on penalties
16Fulham7–0Swansea City11 November 1995
17Brentford1–1Farnborough Town (5)11 November 1995
ReplayFarnborough Town0–4Brentford22 November 1995
18Northampton Town1–0Hayes (6)11 November 1995
19Bradford City4–3Burton Albion (6)11 November 1995
20Hull City0–0Wrexham11 November 1995
ReplayWrexham0–0Hull City21 November 1995
colspan=5|Wrexham won 3–1 on penalties
21Carlisle United1–2Preston North End11 November 1995
22Spennymoor United (6)0–1Colwyn Bay (6)11 November 1995
23Hitchin Town (6)2–1Bristol Rovers11 November 1995
24Altrincham (5)0–2Crewe Alexandra22 November 1995
25Exeter City0–1Peterborough United11 November 1995
26Bognor Regis Town (7)1–1Ashford Town (Kent) (7)11 November 1995
ReplayAshford Town (Kent)0–1Bognor Regis Town21 November 1995
27Mansfield Town4–2Doncaster Rovers11 November 1995
28Kingstonian (6)5–1Wisbech Town (8)11 November 1995
29Runcorn (5)1–1Wigan Athletic11 November 1995
ReplayWigan Athletic4–2Runcorn21 November 1995
30Torquay United1–0Leyton Orient11 November 1995
31York City0–1Notts County12 November 1995
32Hereford United2–1Stevenage Borough (5)11 November 1995
33Newport (IOW) (7)1–1Enfield (6)11 November 1995
ReplayEnfield2–1Newport (IOW)21 November 1995
34Gravesend & Northfleet (6)2–0Colchester United11 November 1995
35Slough Town (5)0–2Plymouth Argyle11 November 1995
36Cinderford Town (7)2–1Bromsgrove Rovers (5)11 November 1995
37Oxford United9–1Dorchester Town (6)11 November 1995
38Telford United (5)2–1Witton Albion (6)11 November 1995
39Hartlepool United2–4Darlington11 November 1995
40Rushden & Diamonds (6)1–3Cardiff City11 November 1995

Second round proper

The second round of the competition featured the winners of the first round ties. The matches were played on 2 December 1995, with six replays and one penalty shootout required. The round featured two teams from Step 7 of English football: Bognor Regis Town from the Isthmian League First Division and Cinderford Town from the Southern League Southern Division.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
Tie no

!Home team

!Score

!Away team

!Date

1Enfield (6)1–1Woking (5)2 December 1995
ReplayWoking2–1Enfield12 December 1995
2Blackpool2–0Colwyn Bay (6)2 December 1995
3AFC Bournemouth0–1Brentford2 December 1995
4Barrow (6)0–4Wigan Athletic2 December 1995
5Rochdale2–2Darlington2 December 1995
ReplayDarlington0–1Rochdale12 December 1995
6Gillingham3–0Hitchin Town (6)2 December 1995
7Crewe Alexandra2–0Mansfield Town2 December 1995
8Swindon Town2–0Cardiff City2 December 1995
9Wrexham3–2Chesterfield2 December 1995
10Stockport County2–0Blyth Spartans (6)2 December 1995
11Fulham0–0Brighton & Hove Albion2 December 1995
ReplayBrighton & Hove Albion0–0Fulham14 December 1995
colspan=5|Fulham won 4–1 on penalties
12Bradford City2–1Preston North End2 December 1995
13Scunthorpe United1–1Shrewsbury Town2 December 1995
ReplayShrewsbury Town2–1Scunthorpe United12 December 1995
14Kingstonian (6)1–2Plymouth Argyle3 December 1995
15Torquay United1–1Walsall2 December 1995
ReplayWalsall8–4Torquay United12 December 1995
16Hereford United2–0Sutton United (6)2 December 1995
17Peterborough United4–0Bognor Regis Town (7)2 December 1995
18Cinderford Town (7)1–1Gravesend & Northfleet (6)2 December 1995
ReplayGravesend & Northfleet3–0Cinderford Town14 December 1995
19Oxford United2–0Northampton Town2 December 1995
20Telford United (5)0–2Notts County2 December 1995

Third round proper

Teams from the Premier League and the Football League First Division entered the competition in this round. The initial matches were played on the weekend of 6-7 January 1996, with fourteen ties going to replays and one of those requiring penalties to settle the result. Gravesend & Northfleet, from the Southern League Premier Division at Step 6 of English football, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
Tie no

!Home team

!Score

!Away team

!Date

1Liverpool (1)7–0Rochdale (4)6 January 1996
2Southampton (1)3–0Portsmouth (2)7 January 1996
3Watford (2)1–1Wimbledon (1)6 January 1996
ReplayWimbledon1–0Watford17 January 1996
4Reading (2)3–1Gillingham (4)6 January 1996
5Walsall (3)1–0Wigan Athletic (4)6 January 1996
6Leicester City (2)0–0Manchester City (1)6 January 1996
ReplayManchester City5–0Leicester City17 January 1996
7Notts County (3)1–2Middlesbrough (1)6 January 1996
8Aston Villa (1)3–0Gravesend & Northfleet (6)6 January 1996
9Grimsby Town (2)7–1Luton Town (2)6 January 1996
10Crewe Alexandra (3)4–3West Bromwich Albion (2)6 January 1996
11Derby County (2)2–4Leeds United (1)7 January 1996
12Everton (1)2–2Stockport County (3)7 January 1996
ReplayStockport County2–3Everton17 January 1996
13Swindon Town (3)2–0Woking (5)6 January 1996
14Ipswich Town (2)0–0Blackburn Rovers (1)6 January 1996
ReplayBlackburn Rovers0–1Ipswich Town16 January 1996
15Tranmere Rovers (2)0–2Queens Park Rangers (1)6 January 1996
16Fulham (4)1–1Shrewsbury Town (3)6 January 1996
ReplayShrewsbury Town2–1Fulham16 January 1996
17Barnsley (2)0–0Oldham Athletic (2)6 January 1996
ReplayOldham Athletic2–1Barnsley23 January 1996
18West Ham United (1)2–0Southend United (2)7 January 1996
19Manchester United (1)2–2Sunderland (2)6 January 1996
ReplaySunderland1–2Manchester United16 January 1996
20Norwich City (2)1–2Brentford (3)6 January 1996
21Plymouth Argyle (4)1–3Coventry City (1)6 January 1996
22Bradford City (3)0–3Bolton Wanderers (1)6 January 1996
23Millwall (2)3–3Oxford United (3)6 January 1996
ReplayOxford United1–0Millwall16 January 1996
24Crystal Palace (2)0–0Port Vale (2)6 January 1996
ReplayPort Vale4–3Crystal Palace16 January 1996
25Chelsea (1)1–1Newcastle United (1)7 January 1996
ReplayNewcastle United2–2Chelsea17 January 1996
colspan=5|Chelsea won 4–2 on penalties
26Huddersfield Town (2)2–1Blackpool (3)6 January 1996
27Charlton Athletic (2)2–0Sheffield Wednesday (1)6 January 1996
28Arsenal (1)1–1Sheffield United (2)6 January 1996
ReplaySheffield United1–0Arsenal17 January 1996
29Hereford United (4)1–1Tottenham Hotspur (1)6 January 1996
ReplayTottenham Hotspur5–1Hereford United17 January 1996
30Stoke City (2)1–1Nottingham Forest (1)6 January 1996
ReplayNottingham Forest2–0Stoke City17 January 1996
31Peterborough United (3)1–0Wrexham (3)6 January 1996
32Birmingham City (2)1–1Wolverhampton Wanderers (2)6 January 1996
ReplayWolverhampton Wanderers2–1Birmingham City17 January 1996

Fourth round proper

The fourth round ties were played with the thirty-two winners of the previous round. The matches were originally scheduled for Saturday, 27 January, although only four matches were played that weekend, and only two of these matches resulted in a victory for one side. There were seven replays but no penalty shootouts. The round included seven clubs from the Second Division (Step 3): Walsall, Crewe Alexandra, Swindon Town, Shrewsbury Town, Brentford, Oxford United and Peterborough United.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
Tie no

!Home team

!Score

!Away team

!Date

1Southampton1–1Crewe Alexandra7 February 1996
ReplayCrewe Alexandra2–3Southampton13 February 1996
2Reading0–3Manchester United27 January 1996
3Nottingham Forest1–1Oxford United7 February 1996
ReplayOxford United0–3Nottingham Forest13 February 1996
4Bolton Wanderers0–1Leeds United14 February 1996
5Middlesbrough0–0Wimbledon7 February 1996
ReplayWimbledon1–0Middlesbrough13 February 1996
6Everton2–2Port Vale27 January 1996
ReplayPort Vale2–1Everton14 February 1996
7Swindon Town1–0Oldham Athletic12 February 1996
8Shrewsbury Town0–4Liverpool18 February 1996
9Sheffield United0–1Aston Villa28 January 1996
10Ipswich Town1–0Walsall13 February 1996
11Tottenham Hotspur1–1Wolverhampton Wanderers27 January 1996
ReplayWolverhampton Wanderers0–2Tottenham Hotspur7 February 1996
12Queens Park Rangers1–2Chelsea29 January 1996
13Coventry City2–2Manchester City7 February 1996
ReplayManchester City2–1Coventry City14 February 1996
14West Ham United1–1Grimsby Town7 February 1996
ReplayGrimsby Town3–0West Ham United14 February 1996
15Huddersfield Town2–0Peterborough United6 February 1996
16Charlton Athletic3–2Brentford7 February 1996

Fifth round proper

The fifth-round matches were scheduled for 17 February. There were five replays and one penalty shootout. Swindon Town was again the lowest-ranked team in the round.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
Tie no

!Home team

!Score

!Away team

!Attendance

1Liverpool2–1Charlton Athletic28 February 1996
2Nottingham Forest2–2Tottenham Hotspur28 February 1996
ReplayTottenham Hotspur1–1Nottingham Forest9 March 1996
colspan=5|Nottingham Forest won 3–1 on penalties
3Grimsby Town0–0Chelsea21 February 1996
ReplayChelsea4–1Grimsby Town28 February 1996
4Swindon Town1–1Southampton17 February 1996
ReplaySouthampton2–0Swindon Town28 February 1996
5Ipswich Town1–3Aston Villa17 February 1996
6Manchester United2–1Manchester City18 February 1996
7Huddersfield Town2–2Wimbledon17 February 1996
ReplayWimbledon3–1Huddersfield Town28 February 1996
8Leeds United0–0Port Vale21 February 1996
ReplayPort Vale1–2Leeds United27 February 1996

Sixth round

The four quarter-final ties were scheduled to be played on the weekend of 9 and 10 March 1996. There were two replays, between Liverpool and Leeds and Wimbledon & Chelsea. These were played on 20 March 1996.

This was a rare occurrence of all eight quarter-finalists being from the top division.

{{football box|

date= 9 March 1996
15:00 GMT|

team1= Chelsea |

score= 2–2 |

team2= Wimbledon |

report= |

goals1= M. Hughes {{goal|70}}
Gullit {{goal|80}} |

goals2= Earle {{goal|54}}
Holdsworth {{goal|81}} |

stadium= Stamford Bridge, London |

attendance= 30,805 |

referee=|}}

{{football box|

date= 10 March 1996
16:00 GMT|

team1= Leeds United |

score= 0–0 |

team2= Liverpool |

report= |

goals1= |

goals2= |

stadium=Elland Road, Leeds |

attendance= 24,632|

referee=|}}

{{football box|

date= 11 March 1996
20:00 GMT|

team1= Manchester United |

score= 2–0 |

team2= Southampton |

report= |

goals1= Cantona {{goal|49}}
Sharpe {{goal|90}} |

goals2= |

stadium= Old Trafford, Manchester |

attendance= 45,446 |

referee=|}}

{{football box|

date= 13 March 1996
19:45 GMT|

team1= Nottingham Forest |

score= 0–1 |

team2= Aston Villa |

report= |

goals1= |

goals2= Carr {{goal|26}}|

stadium= City Ground, Nottingham |

attendance= 21,067|

referee=|}}

=Replays=

{{football box|

date= 20 March 1996
19:45 GMT|

team1= Wimbledon |

score= 1–3 |

team2= Chelsea |

report= |

goals1= Goodman {{goal|39}}|

goals2= Petrescu {{goal|20}}
Duberry {{goal|79}}
M. Hughes {{goal|84}}|

stadium= Selhurst Park, London |

attendance= 21,380|

referee=|}}

{{football box|

date= 20 March 1996
19:45 GMT|

team1= Liverpool |

score= 3–0 |

team2= Leeds United |

report= |

goals1= McManaman {{goal|57||73}}
Fowler {{goal|83}}|

goals2= |

stadium=Anfield, Liverpool |

attendance= 30,812|

referee=|}}

Semi finals

The semi final ties were played at neutral venues on 31 March 1996. Manchester United and Liverpool beat Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively to reach the final. At this stage, Manchester United were top of the league and looking good bets for a unique second double two years after their first one, while Liverpool were hopeful of a similar triumph as they were third in the league and still in with a slim chance of a second double 10 years after their first one.

Just weeks before accepting the role as England manager, Glenn Hoddle watched his Chelsea side throw away their chances of major trophy late in the season for the third year running, one year after losing in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals and two years after losing the FA Cup final.

Aston Villa's defeat ended their hopes of emulating Arsenal's 1993 triumph of an FA Cup/League Cup double, as they had lifted the League Cup the previous weekend.

{{football box|

date= 31 March 1996
13:30 BST|

team1= Manchester United |

score= 2–1 |

team2= Chelsea |

report= [https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/uniteds-five-minutes-of-fury-1302658.html Report]|

goals1= Cole {{goal|55}}
Beckham {{goal|59}} |

goals2= Gullit {{goal|35}} |

stadium= Villa Park, Birmingham |

attendance= 38,421|

referee=|}}Referee:- Stephen Lodge (Barnsley)

----

{{football box

| date = 31 March 1996
16:00 BST

| team1 = Liverpool

| score = 3–0

| team2 = Aston Villa

| report = [https://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/2060 Report]

| goals1 = Fowler {{goal|16||86}}
McAteer {{goal|90}}

| goals2 =

| stadium = Old Trafford, Manchester

| attendance = 39,072

| referee = Paul Durkin (Portland, Dorset)

| event =

| time =

| round =

| score1 =

| score2 =

}}

Final

{{main|1996 FA Cup Final}}

A late goal from Eric Cantona, United's top scorer and the FWA Player of the Year just a year after being vilified for the assault on a spectator which saw him banned from football for eight months, saw a United side featuring some of the Premier League's youngest players clinch a 1–0 win over Liverpool to become the first team to win the double twice, two years after their first double.

{{football box|

date= 11 May 1996
15:00 BST|

team1= Manchester United |

score= 1–0 |

team2= Liverpool |

report= |

goals1= Cantona {{goal|85}} |

goals2= |

stadium= Wembley Stadium, London |

attendance= 79,007 |

referee= Dermot Gallagher (Oxfordshire) }}

Media coverage

For the eighth consecutive season in the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

The matches shown live on the BBC were:

• Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle United (R3)

• Sheffield United 0-1 Aston Villa (R4)

• Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City (R5)

• Leeds United 0-0 Liverpool (QF)

• Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea (SF)

• Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool (Final)

The matches shown live on Sky Sports were:

• York City 0-1 Notts County (R1)

• Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Gillingham (R1)

• Farnborough Town 0-4 Brentford (R1 Replay)

• Bradford City 1-2 Preston North End (R2)

• Kingstonian 1-2 Plymouth Argyle (R2)

• Brighton & Hove Albion 0-0 Fulham (R2 Replay)

• Derby County 2-4 Leeds United (R3)

• Sunderland 1-2 Manchester United (R3 Replay)

• Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Chelsea (R4)

• Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur (R4 Replay)

• Nottingham Forest 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (R5)

• Port Vale 1-2 Leeds United (R5 Replay)

• Manchester United 2-0 Southampton (QF)

• Liverpool 3-0 Leeds United (QF Replay)

• Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa (SF)

External links

  • [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/default.stm FA Cup at BBC Sport]
  • [http://www.thefa.com FA website]

{{FA Cup Seasons}}

{{1995–96 in English football}}

{{1995–96 in European football (UEFA)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 FA Cup}}

Category:FA Cup seasons

FA Cup