Dave Jones says the two Cardiff free kicks that won the visitors the game was the only difference in a tight affair at Hillsborough on Saturday.
Goals either side of half time from Don Cowie and Matthew Connolly did the damage as Wednesday slipped to defeat at the hands of the league leaders.
But the manager says there was little to separate the sides in the bigger picture.
He said: “There was nothing in the game apart from the two set pieces and that’s what has done us.
“Our keeper has barely had a save to make and neither has their keeper but it was that kind of game.
“It was bitty, it was scrappy and it you got the feeling that an ugly goal would change the game.
“We showed our naivety at times and It is really frustrating because we have come a long way in a short space of time.
“We have played five of the top sides recently and taken six points from 15 and we know it could and should have been more.
“But Cardiff are an efficient side, they are not at the top of the table without good reason.”
Jones issued an update on Michail Antonio, who was stretchered off towards the end of what proved a bleak afternoon for Wednesdayites.
He said: “Michail has popped his groin so we will wait 48 hours for any swelling to go down before we can assess him.
“It’s far too early to say how long he will be missing, if at all, he is a good healer so we will have to wait and see.”