"All victories are hard-earned and this was no different," said City boss Dave Jones.
"Up until they scored we were well on top but it was a bad goal to give away as three of my players lost concentration.
"I am very pleased for Eddie Johnson, who has received a lot of flack since coming to the club. Today we saw him lead the line superbly.
"He won a lot of balls in the air, made good runs and brought others into the play. He has needed time to get up to pace but now we may be able to see the best of him."
This week it was Neil Warnock's turn to be unhappy with the referee,
"I thought we played well and I was very pleased with the performance," said Warnock.
"The home crowd were superb for Cardiff but I don't think the first penalty was deserved but Chopra used everything available to him.
"He made Andy Johnson (of Fulham) look an innocent little virgin," said Warnock.
"There was no contact. Chopra realised he had not got anywhere, saw Patrick McCarthy coming across, stumbled and hoped for the best as he went down.
"You get your reward sometimes. That's why he is a Premier League player at Sunderland. You have to use every advantage in your armoury. Chopra did well to get the opportunity, but these incidents should be looked at after matches.
"The video evidence should be used to try and stop players doing it."