1. FC Cologne II won against Gladbach II in the Regionalliga. The Borussia captain was sent off and the 2-1 result is not something you see every day.

On Wednesday afternoon, the small derby between 1. FC Köln’s U21 team and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s U23 team took place in the Regionalliga West.

After 90 minutes, FC won 2-1 (0-1), with FC taking advantage of their numerical superiority from the 56th minute onwards.

Cologne started with an ambitious lineup that included five players with professional contracts: Malek El Mala, Sargis Adamyan, Emin Kujovic, Neo Telle, and U17 World Cup winner Fayssal Harchaoui.

A young quartet looking to make their mark in the professional ranks, along with Adamyan, who was dropped by Markus Kwasniok and is set to play for the U21s until his contract expires in the summer of 2026. Marvin Ajani is another familiar name at Cologne. The 31-year-old former Duisburg player is one of the leading players in the young team.

But Gladbach set the tone on the pitch early on and took the lead. Two Cologne talents with professional contracts, Kujovic and Telle, were involved in the 0-1. Kujovic allowed the cross to come in, and in the middle, Telle lost the header duel against Ulrich, who finished to make it 1-0.

Three minutes later, FC missed a chance to equalize. Malek El Mala was waiting unmarked in the middle, but Safyan Toure played the ball too late, allowing Gladbach to save against El Mala.

Later, Adamyan and Etienne Borie also had the opportunity to equalize for Cologne. But they too missed, so Gladbach went into the break with a lead.

After the break, Cologne wanted to equalize and from the 56th minute onwards, they played with a man advantage. Gladbach captain Michael Lieder pulled the emergency brake against Toure.

Three minutes later, Cologne was rewarded for its extra chances. Borie scored to make it 1-1. An open game developed, with Cologne completely turning the game around eleven minutes before the end. And it was Kujovic who converted a corner directly.

Cologne held on to their narrow lead and climbed to seventh place ahead of the evening games, with Gladbach II in sixth place. Cologne II continue their campaign on Saturday (2 p.m.) at Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. Gladbach II play at home against SC Wiedenbrück at the same time.