Cardiff City was made to rue its wastefulness in front of goal as it slumped to a fourth successive Premier League defeat courtesy of a 2-1 home reverse to Burnley.
Neil Warnock's men came into the match on the back of games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, and although there were flashes of promise, they paid the price for their profligacy.
Cardiff was vastly superior in the first period without capitalising and was duly punished after the break when Burnley took the lead through Johann Gudmundsson's header.
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The home side kept its focus and deservedly levelled through Josh Murphy at the end of a fine move, but Burnley rallied and ultimately consigned Cardiff to another defeat through Sam Vokes' winner 20 minutes from time.
Despite its recent woes, Cardiff began the encounter brightly and an early Callum Paterson pass across the face of goal caused panic, but Josh Murphy could not reach it.
The former Norwich City youngster did go close in the 17th minute, playing a one-two with Greg Cunningham before hitting the post from a tight angle.
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Burnley found itself clinging on by half-time, with Kenneth Zohore forcing Joe Hart into a smart save, before Paterson saw a close-range header cleared in front of the goal-line by Matej Vydra.
Sean Dyche's men took the lead against the run of play five minutes into the second half, as Gudmundsson rose above Greg Cunningham to beat Neil Etheridge with a header at his near post.
But, just nine minutes later, Cardiff were level – Murphy slamming home from 16 yards after Bruno Ecuele Manga's pin-point cut-back.
Parity did not remain, however, and Burnley left with all three points as Vokes steered a header into the bottom-right corner from Gudmundsson's cross in the 70th minute.
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What it means: Burnley finding its feet again
Burnley started the season with a draw and four consecutive defeats in the league, with its brief Europa League exploits perhaps explaining its difficult start. But, after a 4-0 win over Bournemouth last time and Sunday's character-affirming triumph in Wales, Dyche's side look to be getting back to its usual self.
Murphy a livewire
Cardiff has had difficulty as an attacking threat so far this term, but it at least looked bright on occasion against Burnley and Murphy was vital to that. The winger was a decent outlet on the left, with his pace causing problems and he looked the most threatening around the visitor's goal, hitting the post in the first half before getting a deserved goal after the break.
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Lowton the weak link
Murphy was Cardiff's best attacking threat, though there can be little doubt that was partly down to him being up against Matt Lowton, who had immense difficulty keeping up with the former Norwich City youngster.
What's next?
Burnley faces another struggling side next Saturday as it hosts winless Huddersfield Town, while Cardiff travels to Tottenham on the same day.
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