1995–96_FA_Cup
1995–96 FA Cup
Football tournament season
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.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country |  England Wales |
| Defending champions | Everton |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Manchester United (9th title) |
| Runner-up | Liverpool |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Dave Powell (9 goals) |
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 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, whom scored 9 goals.
| Round | Initial Matches | New Entries | Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round | Saturday --- August 1995 | 342 | 575 → 404 |
| First round qualifying | Saturday 9 September 1995 | 117 | 404 → 260 |
| Second round qualifying | Saturday 23 September 1995 | none | 260 → 188 |
| Third round qualifying | Saturday 7 October 1995 | none | 188 → 152 |
| Fourth round qualifying | Saturday 21 October 1995 | 20 | 152 → 124 |
| First round proper | Saturday 11 November 1995 | 52 | 124 → 84 |
| Second round proper | Saturday 2 December 1995 | none | 84 → 64 |
| Third round proper | Saturday 6 January 1996 | 44 | 64 → 32 |
| Fourth round proper | Saturday 27 January 1996 | none | 32 → 16 |
| Fifth round proper | Saturday 17 February 1996 | none | 16 → 8 |
| Sixth round proper | Saturday 9 March 1996 | none | 8 → 4 |
| Semi-finals | Sunday 31 March 1996 | none | 4 → 2 |
| Final | Saturday 11 May 1996 | none | 2 → 1 |
Teams from the Football League Second and Third Division entered in this round plus four non-league teams were given byes to this round: Woking, Kidderminster Harriers, Altrincham and Enfield. 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.
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 third round of the season's FA Cup was scheduled for 6 January and marked the point at which the teams in the two highest divisions in the English league system, the Premier League and the Football League First Division (now known as the Football League Championship). There were fourteen replays, with only one of these games going to penalties to settle it.
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 fifth-round matches were scheduled for 17 February. There were five replays and one penalty shootout.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 2–1 | Charlton Athletic | 28 February 1996 |
| 2 | Nottingham Forest | 2–2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 28 February 1996 |
| Replay | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | Nottingham Forest | 9 March 1996 |
| Nottingham Forest won 3–1 on penalties | ||||
| 3 | Grimsby Town | 0–0 | Chelsea | 21 February 1996 |
| Replay | Chelsea | 4–1 | Grimsby Town | 28 February 1996 |
| 4 | Swindon Town | 1–1 | Southampton | 17 February 1996 |
| Replay | Southampton | 2–0 | Swindon Town | 28 February 1996 |
| 5 | Ipswich Town | 1–3 | Aston Villa | 17 February 1996 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 2–1 | Manchester City | 18 February 1996 |
| 7 | Huddersfield Town | 2–2 | Wimbledon | 17 February 1996 |
| Replay | Wimbledon | 3–1 | Huddersfield Town | 28 February 1996 |
| 8 | Leeds United | 0–0 | Port Vale | 21 February 1996 |
| Replay | Port Vale | 1–2 | Leeds United | 27 February 1996 |
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-finals being from the top division.
| Manchester United | 2–0 | Southampton |
|---|---|---|
Cantona  49'Sharpe 90' |
Replays
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.
Referee:- Stephen Lodge (Barnsley)
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.
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]
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)