“I think we were worth a point against a very good side, they were not topping the table for nothing,” said Russel Slade.
“They played on the front foot very quickly and they pinned us back. They deserved their lead.
"The quality we are showing is that we did stay in the game. Maybe eight or nine weeks ago we would have conceded a second goal which would have put it beyond us.
"We showed great resilience and real determination to come back and be a threat. We were a threat every time we got the ball in and round the box.
“We’ve turned things round a bit, we are not making giant steps, but we are making small steps. It’s not a bad thing to be putting little bricks in place. People are understanding their jobs a lot better than they were.
"We are a lot more consistent. We wanted the elusive win, but it was an entertaining game and I thought the crowd were terrific.”
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe was critical of Premier League referee Lee Mason after seeing his team lose ground in the Sky Bet Championship title race.
The Cherries let Watford and Middlesbrough move into the automatic promotion places after Cardiff clawed back a 1-1 draw in the Welsh capital.
Mason waved away a strong first-half penalty appeal before he disallowed a bizarre goal in the 73rd minute.
Bluebirds goalkeeper Simon Moore hit a kick out of hand into Callum Wilson's back and the ball rebounded off the crossbar and into the striker's path, with Wilson then finding the back of the net.
Howe was left smarting when Wilson was shown a yellow card and believes the official's decisions cost the south-coast club, who now trail their rivals by two points.
He said: "You'll have to ask the referee why the goal was not allowed, I don't think he had a particularly good game and that's an understatement.
"Callum was looking the other way, he stood his ground which is allowed and the goalkeeper has kicked it at his back.
"That's a real strange decision and ultimately it's cost us two points.
"In my view, it was a penalty in the first half, that's my honest opinion having looked at it."
He added: "It was usual Championship game, I thought it was a good match with good tempo.
"I thought we were excellent on the night and deserved to win, we played very good football and dominated.
"We knew Cardiff's threats and ultimately they scored a goal from that, but the way we defended set-pieces is the only disappointment on the night."