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 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. 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 Round Initial Matches New Entries Clubs Preliminary round Saturday 26 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
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.
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.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Blackpool2–1Chester City11 November 19952AFC Bournemouth0–0Bristol City11 November 1995ReplayBristol City0–1AFC Bournemouth21 November 19953Barnet2–2Woking (5)11 November 1995ReplayWoking2–1Barnet21 November 19954Barrow (6)2–1Nuneaton Borough (7)11 November 19955Burnley1–3Walsall10 November 19956Bury0–2Blyth Spartans (6)11 November 19957Canvey Island (8)2–2Brighton & Hove Albion12 November 1995ReplayBrighton & Hove Albion4–1Canvey Island21 November 19958Rochdale5–3Rotherham United11 November 19959Northwich Victoria (5)1–3Scunthorpe United11 November 199510Swindon Town4–1Cambridge United11 November 199511Scarborough0–2Chesterfield11 November 199512Shrewsbury Town11–2Marine (6)11 November 199513Stockport County5–0Lincoln City11 November 199514Wycombe Wanderers1–1Gillingham13 November 1995ReplayGillingham1–0Wycombe Wanderers21 November 199515Kidderminster Harriers (5)2–2Sutton United (6)11 November 1995ReplaySutton United1–1Kidderminster Harriers21 November 1995Sutton United won 3–1 on penalties16Fulham7–0Swansea City11 November 199517Brentford1–1Farnborough Town (5)11 November 1995ReplayFarnborough Town0–4Brentford22 November 199518Northampton Town1–0Hayes (6)11 November 199519Bradford City4–3Burton Albion (6)11 November 199520Hull City0–0Wrexham11 November 1995ReplayWrexham0–0Hull City21 November 1995Wrexham won 3–1 on penalties21Carlisle United1–2Preston North End11 November 199522Spennymoor United (6)0–1Colwyn Bay (6)11 November 199523Hitchin Town (6)2–1Bristol Rovers11 November 199524Altrincham (5)0–2Crewe Alexandra22 November 199525Exeter City0–1Peterborough United11 November 199526Bognor Regis Town (7)1–1Ashford Town (Kent) (7)11 November 1995ReplayAshford Town (Kent)0–1Bognor Regis Town21 November 199527Mansfield Town4–2Doncaster Rovers11 November 199528Kingstonian (6)5–1Wisbech Town (8)11 November 199529Runcorn (5)1–1Wigan Athletic11 November 1995ReplayWigan Athletic4–2Runcorn21 November 199530Torquay United1–0Leyton Orient11 November 199531York City0–1Notts County12 November 199532Hereford United2–1Stevenage Borough (5)11 November 199533Newport (IOW) (7)1–1Enfield (6)11 November 1995ReplayEnfield2–1Newport (IOW)21 November 199534Gravesend & Northfleet (6)2–0Colchester United11 November 199535Slough Town (5)0–2Plymouth Argyle11 November 199536Cinderford Town (7)2–1Bromsgrove Rovers (5)11 November 199537Oxford United9–1Dorchester Town (6)11 November 199538Telford United (5)2–1Witton Albion (6)11 November 199539Hartlepool United2–4Darlington11 November 199540Rushden & 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.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Enfield (6)1–1Woking (5)2 December 1995ReplayWoking2–1Enfield12 December 19952Blackpool2–0Colwyn Bay (6)2 December 19953AFC Bournemouth0–1Brentford2 December 19954Barrow (6)0–4Wigan Athletic2 December 19955Rochdale2–2Darlington2 December 1995ReplayDarlington0–1Rochdale12 December 19956Gillingham3–0Hitchin Town (6)2 December 19957Crewe Alexandra2–0Mansfield Town2 December 19958Swindon Town2–0Cardiff City2 December 19959Wrexham3–2Chesterfield2 December 199510Stockport County2–0Blyth Spartans (6)2 December 199511Fulham0–0Brighton & Hove Albion2 December 1995ReplayBrighton & Hove Albion0–0Fulham14 December 1995Fulham won 4–1 on penalties12Bradford City2–1Preston North End2 December 199513Scunthorpe United1–1Shrewsbury Town2 December 1995ReplayShrewsbury Town2–1Scunthorpe United12 December 199514Kingstonian (6)1–2Plymouth Argyle3 December 199515Torquay United1–1Walsall2 December 1995ReplayWalsall8–4Torquay United12 December 199516Hereford United2–0Sutton United (6)2 December 199517Peterborough United4–0Bognor Regis Town (7)2 December 199518Cinderford Town (7)1–1Gravesend & Northfleet (6)2 December 1995ReplayGravesend & Northfleet3–0Cinderford Town14 December 199519Oxford United2–0Northampton Town2 December 199520Telford 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.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Liverpool (1)7–0Rochdale (4)6 January 19962Southampton (1)3–0Portsmouth (2)7 January 19963Watford (2)1–1Wimbledon (1)6 January 1996ReplayWimbledon1–0Watford17 January 19964Reading (2)3–1Gillingham (4)6 January 19965Walsall (3)1–0Wigan Athletic (4)6 January 19966Leicester City (2)0–0Manchester City (1)6 January 1996ReplayManchester City5–0Leicester City17 January 19967Notts County (3)1–2Middlesbrough (1)6 January 19968Aston Villa (1)3–0Gravesend & Northfleet (6)6 January 19969Grimsby Town (2)7–1Luton Town (2)6 January 199610Crewe Alexandra (3)4–3West Bromwich Albion (2)6 January 199611Derby County (2)2–4Leeds United (1)7 January 199612Everton (1)2–2Stockport County (3)7 January 1996ReplayStockport County2–3Everton17 January 199613Swindon Town (3)2–0Woking (5)6 January 199614Ipswich Town (2)0–0Blackburn Rovers (1)6 January 1996ReplayBlackburn Rovers0–1Ipswich Town16 January 199615Tranmere Rovers (2)0–2Queens Park Rangers (1)6 January 199616Fulham (4)1–1Shrewsbury Town (3)6 January 1996ReplayShrewsbury Town2–1Fulham16 January 199617Barnsley (2)0–0Oldham Athletic (2)6 January 1996ReplayOldham Athletic2–1Barnsley23 January 199618West Ham United (1)2–0Southend United (2)7 January 199619Manchester United (1)2–2Sunderland (2)6 January 1996ReplaySunderland1–2Manchester United16 January 199620Norwich City (2)1–2Brentford (3)6 January 199621Plymouth Argyle (4)1–3Coventry City (1)6 January 199622Bradford City (3)0–3Bolton Wanderers (1)6 January 199623Millwall (2)3–3Oxford United (3)6 January 1996ReplayOxford United1–0Millwall16 January 199624Crystal Palace (2)0–0Port Vale (2)6 January 1996ReplayPort Vale4–3Crystal Palace16 January 199625Chelsea (1)1–1Newcastle United (1)7 January 1996ReplayNewcastle United2–2Chelsea17 January 1996Chelsea won 4–2 on penalties26Huddersfield Town (2)2–1Blackpool (3)6 January 199627Charlton Athletic (2)2–0Sheffield Wednesday (1)6 January 199628Arsenal (1)1–1Sheffield United (2)6 January 1996ReplaySheffield United1–0Arsenal17 January 199629Hereford United (4)1–1Tottenham Hotspur (1)6 January 1996ReplayTottenham Hotspur5–1Hereford United17 January 199630Stoke City (2)1–1Nottingham Forest (1)6 January 1996ReplayNottingham Forest2–0Stoke City17 January 199631Peterborough United (3)1–0Wrexham (3)6 January 199632Birmingham City (2)1–1Wolverhampton Wanderers (2)6 January 1996ReplayWolverhampton 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.