Neil Warnock was delighted to drag Premier League rivals closer to the relegation zone after beating Bournemouth 2-0.
In Cardiff's first home game since record £15million signing Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson went missing after the plane carrying them over the English Channel disappeared on January 21, Bobby Reid's double gave the Bluebirds their first win of 2019.
Cardiff moved to within two points of 17th-placed Burnley and Warnock said: "I thought we deserved it, we knew Bournemouth would have a lot of possession but we were always a threat on the break.
"I'm delighted to get the three points because it will make a few other clubs a little bit more nervous now.
"We lost at Arsenal in the week but I was really pleased. You don't often have 19 shots on goal at the Emirates and Bobby should have had five goals this week.
"The whole squad has worked hard and we didn't even have Harry (Arter) and Victor (Camarasa) here.
"But we made up for it, and we were quite bold in the tactics to have Bobby as one of the main lads breaking from midfield. I thought we were quite positive in the way we set up."
Warnock said he did not see either of Reid's goals at the start of each half.
Cardiff went ahead through a fifth-minute penalty after Steve Cook had inexplicably handled Josh Murphy's cross, Warnock sticking to his superstition of looking away when spot-kicks are taken.
And Warnock was still making his way from the dressing room when Reid claimed his fourth goal of the season within seconds of the re-start.
"I didn't see either goal, I'll have to keep away a little more," Warnock joked.
"I was just coming out (after half-time) and there was a big roar.
"There's a television screen in the tunnel and the guy there said 'Come and look at this gaffer'.
"What a great decision, too, from the linesman. He was definitely onside and sometimes you don't get them."
Bournemouth had humbled Chelsea 4-0 in midweek but, apart from Andrew Surman striking the crossbar in the first half, created few real chances of note.
Callum Wilson and David Brooks were both absent, with manager Eddie Howe saying the Wales forward will be "out for a few weeks" after straining a ligament against Chelsea.
"We always have to look at ourselves and I don't think we can use that as an excuse," Howe said of the emotionally-charged circumstances.
"I don't think I've been involved in a game like that before, it was a unique atmosphere.
"But I just have to analyse what was on the pitch and not what was happening around it – and we made it very difficult for ourselves at the start of each half."
