David Marshall was hailed as the Championship's top goalkeeper by Cardiff manager Russell Slade after his heroics earned a 2-0 over Reading.
The Scotland stopper was on hand to prevent the Royals stealing an early lead, before earning a standing ovation for keeping out a late fightback.
It had been nine hours and 39 minutes since a Cardiff player had scored when Kenwyne Jones finally found the net with a powerful header.
Matthew Connolly made sure it got even better for the hosts after 52 minutes, when the former Reading loanee rose above Anton Ferdinand to secure a pressure-relieving win for Slade.
"I would say David is the best keeper in the Championship and he's in absolute top form at this moment," the Cardiff manager said.
"Reading's strength is there movement in forward areas - it's almost like playing against four centre forwards.
"They are going to get opportunities so your keeper has to be on his mettle and concentrating and that's what David does so well.
"It was a good win against a very strong Reading side. The first goal was important today and we managed to get that.
"We controlled a lot of the first half and their best chances came after we had scored.
"We looked a little bit more of a creative threat, which is what we were looking for. We were resilient and resolute in our defending.
"We were a constant threat and I'm really pleased with the reaction of the players after the defeat at Leeds and it keeps the momentum going at home."
Reading manager Steve Clarke echoed Slade's praise of the Scotland goalkeeper.
"Marshall was terrific today and the fact he got man of the match shows we weren't far away from a good result," he said.
"We knew they would be a threat at set-plays, but we were very disappointed with the referee - the free-kick he gave for the first goal was very soft.
"They got the first goal which made it difficult for us as well and conceding from a corner is not like us.
"I have to give credit to the players because they kept going and kept trying and on another day some of those shots could have gone in.
"There are no prizes, relegation or promotion in November, so you just have to keep working away going from week-to-week and game-to-game.
"The last international break came at a bad time for us because we were on a roll but this time the players can go away and take stock and come back firing."