# 1995–96 NSL Cup

The 1995–96 NSL Cup was the 20th edition of the NSL Cup, which was the main national association football knockout cup competition in Australia. The NSL Cup was sponsored by Johnnie Walker and known as the Johnnie Walker Cup for sponsorship purposes.
Melbourne Knights were the defending champions, having defeated Heidelberg United to win their first title in the previous season's final, but they were eliminated in the first round by eventual winners South Melbourne.
South Melbourne defeated Newcastle Breakers 3–1 in the final to win their second NSL Cup title.

## Teams

The NSL Cup 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.
| Round | Main date | Number of fixtures | Clubs remaining |
| First round | Saturday 20 January 1996 | 12 | 12 → 6 |
| Quarter-finals | Tuesday 23 January 1996 | 2 | 6 → 4 |
| Semi-finals | Thursday 25 January 1996 | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | Saturday 27 January 1996 | 1 | 2 → 1 |

## Bracket

| First round | First round | First round | First round | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| Adelaide City | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Morwell Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Morwell Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | Adelaide City | Adelaide City | Adelaide City | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | Newcastle Breakers | Newcastle Breakers | Newcastle Breakers | 3 |
| Newcastle Breakers | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | Newcastle Breakers | Newcastle Breakers | Newcastle Breakers | 3 |
| Brisbane Strikers | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Brisbane Strikers | 1 | 0 | 1 | Newcastle Breakers | Newcastle Breakers | Newcastle Breakers | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | Sydney Olympic | Sydney Olympic | Sydney Olympic | 1 | | | | |
| Sydney Olympic | 2 | 3 | 5 | Sydney Olympic | Sydney Olympic | Sydney Olympic | 1 | | | | |
| Wollongong City | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wollongong City | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | Newcastle Breakers | Newcastle Breakers | Newcastle Breakers | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | 3 |
| South Melbourne | 4 | 0 | 4 | | | | | | | | | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | 3 |
| Melbourne Knights | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Melbourne Knights | 2 | 1 | 3 | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Marconi Fairfield | Marconi Fairfield | Marconi Fairfield | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Marconi Fairfield | 1 | 2 | 3 | Marconi Fairfield | Marconi Fairfield | Marconi Fairfield | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Sydney United | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sydney United | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Canberra Cosmos | Canberra Cosmos | Canberra Cosmos | 1 |
| West Adelaide | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | Canberra Cosmos | Canberra Cosmos | Canberra Cosmos | 1 |
| Canberra Cosmos | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | |

## First round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Adelaide City | 3–0 | Morwell Falcons | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Newcastle Breakers | 2–1 | Brisbane Strikers | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Sydney Olympic | 5–3 | Wollongong City | 2–3 | 3–0 |
| South Melbourne | 4–3 | Melbourne Knights | 4–2 | 0–1 |
| Marconi Fairfield | 3–1 | Sydney United | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| West Adelaide | 1–2 | Canberra Cosmos | 1–1 | 0–1 |
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 and Canberra Cosmos had a bye for the Quarter-finals.