The late-night travel issue Middlesbrough fans face at Crystal Palace | OneFootball

Boro fans travelling to South London for their EFL Cup match by train may have to think carefully about how they're going to get home afterwards.

Middlesbrough fans travelling south for their EFL Cup match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park by public transport may need to think carefully about how they're going to get home again afterwards.

With three wins from their first five Championship games of the season, Middlesbrough have started the 2026-27 season impressively following their play-off final defeat to Hull City at the end of last season.

But Boro haven't only made progress in the League so far this season. In the EFL Cup, they've already overcome both Wrexham and Doncaster Rovers to reach the Third Round of the competition, and their reward for this is a trip to Selhurst Park to play Crystal Palace.

An away tie against Premier League opposition is an excellent way for the Boro head coach Kim Hellberg to test his team's mettle against top-flight opposition, and he'll be hoping for a big turnout from the club's supporters. But there could be a fly in the ointment for the club's travelling faithful caused by train schedules which could cause serious issues for anyone hoping to get back to Teesside tonight by public transport.

Middlesbrough fans heading to London by train may have issues getting home again after the match

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With all day to play with, getting down to London for their match against Crystal Palace doesn't represent a major challenge for a fan base who are already used to making long journeys to away matches.

But making the return journey back afterwards will be more of a challenge for Middlesbrough fans. The latest direct weekday train from London to Middlesbrough service currently listed departs from King's Cross 18.45, an hour before the match between Palace and Boro is due to kick off.

Even indirect trains back are an issue. Fans wishing to return to Teesside may hope that they can take a later LNER service north and change at Darlington. But the last train from King's Cross to Darlington doesn't reach its destination until 00.47, while the final listed service from Darlington to Middlesbrough leaves at 22.40.

Midweek football isn't high on the priority list of train service providers

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It only takes a rudimentary understanding of football kick-off times and public transport in London to understand how impractical getting back to King's Cross from Selhurst Park could turn out to be.

The match kicks off at 19.45, meaning that it won't end until after 21.30, even if the game doesn't finish level after 90 minutes. If it does, there is no extra-time and the match will go straight to a penalty shootout. But regardless of this, there is no practical way of getting a train back from South London to Middlesbrough by train that doesn't get back before the following morning.

A coach back could be a nominally more achievable way of getting back. There is a coach which departs from London Victoria coach station at 22.00 which gets to Middlesbrough at 3.55 in the morning. But even this would be a serious stretch for travelling fans. There's a train from Selhurst station at 21.44, but this doesn't get to Victoria railway station until 21.59, giving fans one minute to make the five-minute walk round to the coach station, and even that's assuming that the train is running on time.

Of course, Boro fans will have factored all of this in, and those who are at Selhurst Park will be a mixture of exiled fans and those making the journey down from Teesside by car or supporters' coach. But the inability of fans to be able to get back to Middlesbrough after the match does highlight the extent to which travelling football supporters aren't generally considered, when train companies are managing their schedules.