"We were always pressing hard and as long as our two centre-backs did their jobs it was really a case of when we would score.
"I will never settle for what these players do as I always want more and it was good to see Jason Koumas produce a great cross for the goal.
"Confidence is high in the camp and it is a happy dressing room as they are all good professionals.
"Good teams keep going until the end and it is all about results from now on but that little bit of quality will always shine through, just as it did today."
Scunthorpe boss Ian Baraclough was left crestfallen after his side were beaten in the closing stages.
United went into the clash on the back of a 5-1 thrashing against Hull last week but put in a resolute display against the high-flyers until the final five minutes.
And Baraclough could not hide his disappointment at their inability to hold on for a confidence-boosting point.
His team are seven points shy of safety following the defeat and Baraclough said: "Losing the game is a bitter pill to swallow and the players are distraught that we have not come away with at least a point.
"We frustrated Cardiff and forced them at times to play long balls and with a bit of luck we could have got something from the game.
"I am disappointed that in the last five minutes we failed to clear a cross after we had managed to do that during the rest of the game and although Cardiff's three substitutes were a threat, we should still have cleared our lines."
Despite his team's precarious position, Baraclough maintains his players can beat the drop.
He added: "There is a definite belief we can get out of the bottom three and games like this should give confidence to the players that we can escape relegation.
"We now have three home games which will be vital for us in moving up the table but we must reproduce our away form at home and make sure the players express themselves."