Nemanja Nikolic on target as Chicago defeats Columbus

Nemanja Nikolic scored after pouncing on a defensive miscue in the 27th minute to help the Chicago Fire beat the Columbus Crew 1-0 on Saturday night.

Nikolic intercepted goalkeeper Zack Steffen's pass at the top of the penalty arc and slipped it back around Steffen for the goal. It was Nikolic's fourth of the season for the Fire.

Richard Sanchez had two saves to record his first clean sheet of the season.

The Crew had shots hit off the crossbar in the 72nd and 76th minutes.