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Cardiff City's hopes of Premier League survival were dealt a devastating blow at Craven Cottage, as the Bluebirds lost 1-0 to a sublime Ryan Babel strike ten minutes from time.

After Brighton fought to a draw at home to Newcastle, Cardiff are now four points behind the Seagulls with two games to play. Chris Hughton's side know that one win from their remaining two games will guarantee their safety and condemn Cardiff to relegation.

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On an afternoon where the away side rarely threatened the Fulham goal, Cardiff boss Neil Warnock was left ruing his team's luck this season. As quoted by The Independent, Warnock said: "It was always out of our hands. The biggest blow was losing to Chelsea, being five rather than two points behind really killed us. We haven’t had much go our way since Christmas.

“You get what you pay for. The Emiliano tragedy, he could have scored 10 goals since Christmas and that’s what we’ve been lacking. It’s been blow after blow for us."

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When the Bluebirds did push forward, they looked a real threat and had several clear cut chances to get a late equaliser. However, the finishing wasn't up to scratch and Warnock's side came away with nothing.

Speaking on his team's finishing ability, the Cardiff boss felt his team gave their all in the game, as he said: "[After the game], I just told the players how proud I was. They’ve been kicked in the teeth up and down. We had 10 shots in the last 10 minutes. I don’t think we could have done much more really.”

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Next up for Cardiff, they face Crystal Palace at home knowing that three points is a must if they stand any chance of staying up. They must then following that up with a win at Old Trafford if they want to go above Brighton. A tall order, but Warnock is sure to garner the fighting spirit his side need to put themselves within a shout of survival.