Cardiff manager Erol Bulut:
“We didn't take our chances to score. I think first half it was a game where both sides didn't create chances. Second half, first 10-15 minutes, we had three or four positions to score.
“Then you concede a goal from a set-piece, then an own goal which is unlucky, but when we get a chance to score you have to score. This is a problem we have right now.
“How we spoke always about statistics, because statistics are nothing, we can speak about statistics and then everything is different. You have to score goals. And if not you have to run behind the result to get it done. And it's not easy against a quality team.”
Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick:
“It was a really good win. It was a bit different to the other games we’ve had, not as many shots or chances, but there were a lot of good things in the game.
“The pitch was slow so it wasn’t easy to play quickly but I thought the boys did that well, largely. There was a five-minute spell [at the start of the second half] we had to weather. Other than that I thought we were good.
“To get rewarded for the time we spend on set-pieces was really pleasing. After a strange week with the [transfer] window and the result we had in midweek [losing 5-0 to Stoke City in the EFL Cup], the boys dealt with that ever so well. I’m really proud of them.”