Crystal Palace succumbed to their second consecutive loss on Saturday morning at the Beckenham training ground thanks to a solitary second half strike by Cardiff's Jon Meades.

The midfielder timed his late run to perfection as he latched on to a Craig Mason cross in the 55th minute with a precision volley into the far corner.

Palace though had begun the game the brighter of the two sides, controlling the possession as well as creating a series of excellent chances.

In fact they could have opened the scoring as early as the first minute when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Kieran Djilali. 

The young forward broke down the left flank, cut into the box and was felled by Steffan Jones. He then picked himself up to take it but as he stepped up to shoot he lost his footing and the ball flew up and hit the bar.

Djilali had another good opportunity, again cutting in from the left hand side to find enough space 20 yards out to shoot. But, with players closing him down he dragged his shot wide of the left hand post.

Ibra Sekajja then came close with a decent effort from the edge of the box. Squaring up his defender he dropped his left shoulder to lose his marker before hitting a shot to the top left corner that the keeper watched over.

Cardiff carved out their best opportunity of the first half on 20 minutes when Meades slipped Ibrahim Farah through into the box with a measured pass, but the striker's chipped effort looped over the bar.

Sekajja again came close when Djilali outpaced Jones down the left flank and played in a decent low ball to the Palace forward. Showing an excellent turn of pace, Pinney stole a yard on his marker to get a snap shot away that flew narrowly wide.

But Cardiff got their goal ten minutes into the second half when Farah broke quickly through the centre of the pitch and played a ball out wide to Mason. The winger took a touch before playing in a low ball into the box where Meades timed a late run to perfection and smashed home an expert volley.

In response Palace came close with a series of late chances. Kieron Cadogan smashed over a spectacular volley and Alesanne N'Diaye forced the keeper into a save with a snap shot from 18 yards.

As the second half entered its final stages the Bluebirds controlled much of the play, carving out a series of excellent chances of their own that could have seen them extend their lead.

Another Mason cross again caused problems for Palace with Nathanial Jarvis climbing highest to head it wide of the far post, while Josh McGuinness aimed a low drive straight down the throat of Palace keeper, Harry Lee.

Mason then came close himself when he won the ball in the middle of the park and curled a dangerous left footed striker to the far corner that only just flew wide of the post.

Teams:

Crystal Palace: 1. Harry Lee, 2. Kieran Kenlock, 3. Hakeem Adelakun (Joe Goldsmith, 65), 4. Charlie Holness, 5. Alex Winter, 5. Jerry Nnamani, 7. Tauren Roberts, 8. Alessane N'Diaye, 9. Ibra Sekajja (Jack Randall, 65), 10. Kieran Djilali (c), 11. Wilfred Zaha, 12. Matthew Parsons

Unused Sub: Jack Holland

Cardiff City:

Jordan Santiago, Steffan Jones, Alex Evans, Stephen Last, Kye Edwards, Aaron Wildig (c) (Alex Davies, 75), Ibrahim Farah, Jon Meades, Josh Magennis, Nathanial Jarvis, Craig Mason.

Unused Subs: Theo Warton

Highlights of this game are now available on Palace World.  

A subscription to Palace World costs just £3.99 per month and there has never been a better time to sign up. Palace World subscribers can already watch exclusive footage of Crystal Palace U18s 5-3 defeat to Bristol City as well as an exclusive interview with Palace's in form striker, Shefki Kuqi.