Cardiff City 2 Southampton 1

Going into the final game – against Watford at St Mary’s on Saturday – before their two weeks without a fixture they still sit top of the Championship table, no mean feat and without doubt the kind of result any fan would have taken before the campaign began.

But they are looking very tired right now.

Nigel Adkins has consistently emphasised that he sees this as a squad game rather than just about 11 players out there on the field.

However, despite that, he has used only a handful of his players in first team league action so far.

Of course, part of that is because of the results the players have produced.

But they looked slightly jaded at Burnley at the weekend and were held to a 1-1 draw.

Aside from one change Adkins stuck with it again at Cardiff last night and a tired looking Saints fell to only their second defeat of the season.

There is no shame whatsoever in these last two away day results.

But with the squad only really having been utilised thus far for the Carling Cup and not in the Championship it was perhaps inevitable these exertions, coupled with some heavy travelling of late, would take their toll eventually and they most definitely did in Wales last night.

Saints were just off the pace again, not quite as sharp as they have been.

In the final third they didn’t have that fizz they did in the early season, at the back two sloppy errors cost them goals.

The second half introduction of Steve De Ridder proved that a fresh pair of legs can have an impact.

Adkins faces a difficult reassessment ahead of Watford – does he utilise that much-talked-up squad, or hope to squeeze one more performance out of the team before two weeks off when the batteries can be recharged ready for another onslaught, hopefully as impressive as that we have seen in general so far.

The first half was not a particularly inspiring 45 minutes.

Saints did boss the possession but created virtually nothing in the way of meaningful chances.

They did at least manage to annoy the crowd at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Their increasingly bizarre goal kick routine of pushing the full backs up, pulling the centre halves short out wide and then dropping a central midfielder short to try and collect the ball from Kelvin Davis was quickly worked out.

They kept trying to see whether they might have a chance though, thankfully generally deciding not to after another heart stopping effort when they were caught in possession on seven minutes and were happy to see Don Cowie’s shot deflected wide.

But nevertheless, because of the time it took to maybe play it, then not, then do something else, it did have the appearance of time wasting.

Saints followers knew it wasn’t a deliberate running down of the clock but Cardiff fans felt it was little different to the way Brighton tried to kill time at St Mary’s last season – and let Saints know of their disapproval.

Cardiff had the best chance of the half on 17 minutes when one of Aran Gunnarsson’s monstrous long throws fell to Kenny Miller in the box and his goalbound shot was blocked by Danny Fox.

Peter Whittingham fired a free kick over the bar and saw another smash off the head of his own player and go wide while Cowie fired over when he should have hit the target after being found by Joe Mason’s cut back from the left by-line.

The best Saints managed was Adam Lallana’s pass which found Guly Do Prado with time to take a touch and size up a shot from just inside the area. However, he slashed into the side netting.

The second half was the complete opposite to the first.

In fact, there was comfortably more goalmouth action in the first 15 minutes than in the whole of the first period put together.

Saints had the first good chance five minutes after the restart when David Connolly’s chipped cross was accidentally flicked on by Mark Hudson and picked out Rickie Lambert behind him at the far post.

The striker headed back across goals but wide.

Saints had appeals for a penalty turned down on 55 minutes when Jack Cork’s fiercely struck shot was blocked in the area and Cardiff took the lead just moments later.

It was poor defending as a route one ball from keeper David Marshall evaded everybody and was allowed to bounce in behind.

Davis came out to try and get to it but Miller was first on the scene and headed over the advancing keeper from the edge of the area and into the empty net for 1-0.

Saints could have got back level on 59 minutes when a superb one-two between Morgan Schneiderlin and Rickie Lambert saw the Frenchman in on goal but Marshall saved at his feet.

Cardiff got a second on 63 minutes but again it owed much to Saints.

This time they gave the ball away cheaply and in a poor area and Gunnarsson needed no second invitation to slide a pass to his right to find Miller who clinically finished low across Davis and into the far corner.

You got the sense it wouldn’t be Saints’ night when Lambert missed a great chance on 71 minutes.

Do Prado broke forward and fed the ball to Frazer Richardson on the right wing.

His excellent first time cross picked out the head of Lambert running in at the far post but he directed it wide.

Sub Richard Chaplow also came close with a quickly directed side footed shot five minutes later but it was fractionally off target.

Saints did get one back but not until three minutes into stoppage time.

Lambert’s flick on found the lively De Ridder in the box and he was alert enough to fire home to make it 2-1.

With what little time was remaining Saints piled everything forward but Cardiff saw it out.

A break on the horizon looks very handy for Saints.