THERE was not that much in it, and little to choose between the sides.

That was at least until Curtis Davies’s sending-off.

A tight, hard-fought affair seemed to be heading towards stalemate.

Neither goalkeeper was particularly stressed and you could not see where or how in-form Cardiff were going to find their way past an obdurate Blues.

But everything changed when Davies slid in to try and get the ball away from Kenny Miller and was deemed to have denied a goalscoring opportunity.

Chris Hughton doesn’t do referee blasts; he tempered his emotions in typically calm manner by saying there was sufficient doubt to question the decision.

In other words Anthony Taylor got it wrong.

And Davies, who is usually so open and co-operative after a game, this time preferred to bite his lip and not reveal what he thought.

But it was obvious at the time – anger and incredulity – and the consequences for Blues were dire.

On as substitute after Hughton’s re-jig, Pablo, with his first touch, steered a clearing header straight to Miller who duly scored in emphatic manner.

It turned out to be the only goal and left Blues to mull over another game ending in a defeat that didn’t seem at all likely.

Another facet on the debit side was that Blues didn’t do enough to have won it themselves. There was not the required guile, ruthlessness, dynamism – in short, genuine goal threat – to have put Cardiff on edge.

Blues were not bad, and defensively they were again stout and strong, but they needed to do better going the other way.

Hughton resisted the temptation to match up with Cardiff, whose fortunes have surged since a shift to 4-5-1, Marlon King was recalled to partner Nikola Zigic.

With Cardiff on a run of form that had seen them win seven and draw two of their previous nine matches in league and cup, it was no easy prospect for Blues on their first ever visit to the Bluebirds new stadium.

But Blues settled into the match quickly and Cardiff found them difficult to move about and unhinge.

Defensively, Blues showed why they are among the best teams in the Championship, until the Davies incident changed everything.

Sporting yellow shirts, blue shorts and white socks, Hughton’s men looked like Brazil.

But it was not a game for Samba soccer, and neither team suggested that they would turn on the style in a doughty and undistinguished first-half.

The most dangerous incident of the period for Blues came from a Peter Whittingham shot that Boaz Myhill got down to well and parried, and then snaffled the loose ball as Filip Kiss slid into challenge.

Blues had encouraging moments, but nothing was delivered from the promise.