Paulinho's 93rd-minute flick saw Tottenham Hotspur move level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League and end Cardiff City's unbeaten home run in the process.
Spurs controlled the match for large periods but were continually denied by Cardiff keeper David Marshall.
It looked like the visitors would have to settle for a point until two summer signings combined in stoppage time.
Erik Lamela crossed low for Paulinho who, with the ball behind him, managed to cleverly flick home from close range.
Here, Sports Mole picks apart an action-packed 90 minutes in the Welsh capital.
Match statistics:
Cardiff:
Shots 6
On target 0
Possession 36%
Corners 2
Fouls 7
Spurs:
Shots 29
On target 12
Possession 64%
Corners 12
Fouls 8
Was the result fair?
Yep. Cardiff will be devastated to concede so late on but Spurs deserved three points for their dominant display. It's not often that a goalkeeper's save count goes into double figures but that's what happened as Marshall made 11 saves to keep the visitors at bay until the 93rd minute. Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris was not tested once.
Cardiff's performance
It could have been a completely different story for Malky Mackay's men if Lloris had been sent off after just five minutes. The French international stole the ball from Fraizer Campbell's toes after Kyle Naughton's careless back-pass and replays showed that Lloris may have handled outside the area. Referee Mark Clattenburg did not agree and, in all honesty, it was ever so hard to tell. Had Lloris been dismissed, then Spurs would have found it much harder to control the game as much as they did. Cardiff struggled in possession against the dynamic duo of Paulinho and Moussa Dembele and simply had their keeper to thank for holding Spurs off for so long. Campbell did very little after spurning that early opening and his replacement Peter Odemwingie impressed when he came on and could start the next game.
Spurs's performance
Andre Villas-Boas's men made it four wins out of five with their third 1-0 triumph of the season. Even before his goal, Paulinho was the star man for the visitors. He and Dembele are a combative twosome behind the more creative likes of Eriksen and Sigurdsson. The latter was particularly unlucky not to score when his dipping shot slapped the bar, with Marshall somehow keeping out Roberto Soldado's instinctive volley on the rebound. It was record-signing Lamela who set up Paulinho for the winner. The Argentine is yet to start in the league and may struggle to do so again next week as Andros Townsend was bright throughout in his place. At the back, Naughton was the weak link as he stood in for Danny Rose and looked suspect when Cardiff came forward.
Sports Mole's man of the match
David Marshall: It's not often that a player on the losing side takes home this award but Marshall was outstanding in goal for the hosts today. His aforementioned save from Soldado, in particular, was stunning. It must have been devastating to see Paulinho flick past him to deny all that good work.
Biggest gaffe
We are going to give this to Campbell for failing to take the early chance gifted to him by Naughton. Yes, Lloris may have been outside the area when the ball was taken off his toes but the Cardiff striker should not have given him the chance to do so.
Referee performance
Mark Clattenburg will probably be criticised for failing to send off Lloris but it was so marginal and the linesman would not have had a clear view to help Clattenburg make the call. Apart from that, it was a solid game for the man who five days earlier oversaw Real Madrid's 6-1 spanking of Galatasaray in the Champions League.
What next?
Cardiff: Next up for the Bluebirds is a trip to West Ham in just two days' time for a League Cup third-round tie. That's followed by a trip to Fulham on Saturday.
Spurs: Spurs, meanwhile, travel to Villa in the League Cup on Tuesday before hosting Chelsea in Saturday's lunchtime kickoff.
Pascal Lemesre
