Chris Wilder's Sheffield United have won four successive games in the Championship
Cameron Carter-Vickers scored the only goal of the game on his Sheffield United debut to help the Blades beat winless Bolton in the Championship.
Carter-Vickers fired into the roof of the net after his first effort from a corner was blocked by a defender.
Daniel Lafferty almost doubled the lead after the break, but his header was cleared off the line by David Wheater.
Bolton improved late on, but Jem Karacan's weak shot was the closest they came to an equaliser.
Sheffield United have now won four successive games and are third in the Championship table.
Bolton have found the step up from League One far more challenging than the Blades, bottom of the table with just two points from their first seven games.
The Trotters managed two shots on target as Sheffield United kept their second clean sheet in 39 league visits to their opponents.
The Blades only mustered one more shot on target, but they were rewarded for Carter-Vickers' persistence on his first appearance since signing on loan from Tottenham.
Bolton manager Phil Parkinson:
"We couldn't have given much more. We gave absolutely everything. The energy levels were great and there were some of the best individual performances we have had this season.
"I feel for the boys, I feel for myself and the supporters because we have lost another game.
"Maybe somewhere around the corner something is going to fall to us, someone is going to block to one of us and we are going to smash it into the back of the net."
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder:
"We are delighted with the result. It was a hard-fought game and the result could have gone either way, if I am honest.
"Bolton's start hasn't been great but the similarity from last year - us knowing a little bit about them and them knowing a little bit about us - brought the teams closer together in terms of performances.
"This, in my opinion, is our best result, not the best performance, from our season so far."
