The 1995–96 NSL Cup was the 20th edition of the

NSL Cup The National Soccer League Cup (known most commonly as the NSL Cup) was an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Australian soccer organised by the Australian Soccer Federation between 1977 and 1997. History The NSL Cup was or ...

, which was the main national

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

cup competition in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The NSL Cup was sponsored by

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

and known as the Johnnie Walker Cup for sponsorship purposes.

Melbourne Knights Melbourne Knights Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the suburb of Sunshine North, Melbourne. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, the second-tier of the Australian soccer league ...

were the defending champions, having defeated

Heidelberg United Heidelberg United Alexander Football Club (founded as Alexander the Great-Melbourne Soccer Club) established in 1958 is a football (soccer) club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia. The team currently ...

to win their first title in the previous season's

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, but they were eliminated in the first round by eventual winners

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

defeated

Newcastle Breakers Newcastle Breakers FC are a defunct Australian football (soccer) club. Formed out of elements of the Newcastle Austral club, they participated in the National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in ...

3–1 in the

to win their second NSL Cup title.

Teams

The

was a knockout competition with 12 teams taking part all trying to reach the Final in January 1996. The competition consisted of the 12 teams from the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

Bracket

First round

''Canberra Cosmos won 2–1 on aggregate'' ---- ''Adelaide City won 3–0 on aggregate'' ---- ''Newcastle Breakers won 2–1 on aggregate'' ---- ''South Melbourne won 4–3 on aggregate'' ---- ''Sydney Olympic won 5–3 on aggregate'' ---- ''Marconi Fairfield won 3–1 on aggregate''

Quarter-finals

Adelaide City Adelaide City Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Oakden, a north-eastern suburb of Adelaide. The club was a founding member of the now-defunct National Soccer League (NSL) and currently competes in the National Premier ...

and

Canberra Cosmos Canberra Cosmos Football Club was an Australian soccer club based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It participated in the National Soccer League from the 1995/96 season until the end of the 2000/01 season, after which it folded, prima ...

had a bye for the Quarter-finals.

Semi-finals

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 NSL Cup 1995–96 NSL Cup

NSL Cup seasons