"We're limited compared to some of the other teams around us, but I can't fault the players," said Neil Warnock.
"They've battled hard for a point, even though that was the worst we've been as a defence, and to come away at half-time with no goals is actually a credit to them!"
Warnock regretted Clinton Morrison's failure to hit the target on 77 minutes - when the Palace top scorer headed over unchallenged.
"Clinton had the best chance of the night and could have had a couple.
"He usually doesn't miss them - it was such a good ball in that he didn't really have to head it [forcefully]; he just had to direct it.
"But that's not for me to tell him - he knows all about striking and has bailed us out on a number of occasions."
Cardiff boss Dave Jones considered the stalemate a missed opportunity.
"They've thrown bodies in the way time and again," he said.
"I gambled a little bit by bringing Trevor (Sinclair) and Ricky [Riccardo Scimeca] back.
"Today we've passed as well as we ever have, and it has been a vast improvement.
"What I can say is that everyone is in contention for the next game and they've put in a good shift - you could not say that sometimes over the last couple of weeks."