Cardiff boss Mick McCarthy paid "credit" to Nottingham Forest as the Bluebirds' play-off push suffered a setback against the Reds.
James Garner's goal in the first half secured all three points for Chris Hughton's side who produced a resilient performance that took them 10 points clear of the Championship's bottom three.
But it also impacted Cardiff's quest for a place in the top six as they were left five points behind sixth-placed Reading who drew 1-1 at Barnsley.
The Bluebirds still have a chance to force their way into the conversation but missed out on the opportunity to gain crucial ground as Forest stood firm to clinch a fine win.
And McCarthy praised the Reds for the way they kept them at bay.
"We just didn't have that bit of luck or bit of quality at the end to finish it," McCarthy told Wales Online.
"It's ended up with a disappointing 1-0 defeat.
"I'm pleased with the reaction second half, I thought they were very good, but we needed to start that way and we didn't.
"But I have to give Forest some credit for that, there is a team on the pitch trying to stop us.
"Forest played well and we couldn't really get to grips with it, get closer to them to stop them.
"Maybe the fact we had been away, so many players, some have trained, some have not trained that much after international duty. And maybe it's just fragmented.
"I was saying beforehand, 'let's get up to the standard we've been', and we just didn't."
