Injured Ghana duo Harrison Afful and Jonathan Mensah missed Columbus Crew's 1-0 loss to David Accam's Chicago Fire on Saturday in the MLS.
Nemanja Nikolic scored the only goal of the match in the 22nd minute for Accam's side.
Dax McCarty assisted the game-winning goal, had some key defensive plays and helped control the midfield against a possession-oriented Columbus team.
McCarty, who was named man of the match, slid a through ball to Nemanja Nikolic in the box in the 22nd minute.
Nikolic scored his second goal of the season with a first-time low shot that got through goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
Accam was replaced by Daniel Johnson in the 73rd minute while Crew subbed-off his compatriot Mohammed Abu in the 60th minute.
Columbus travelled to the Toyota Park without Federico Higuain, Jonathan Mensah and Harrison Afful and Chicago Fire took advantage and snapped the Crew's three-game winning streak.
The win moved the Fire into second place in the Eastern Conference, ahead of the rest of Saturday's matches around the league.