Paddy Davitt delivers his Cardiff verdict after Norwich City’s late Championship heartbreak.

1. Sickener

For the thick end of 89 minutes at the Cardiff City stadium, Johannes Hoff Thorup’s depleted squad had defied a fresh wave of injuries to key players, that claimed both Josh Sargent and Anis Ben Slimane this past week, to add to the absent Marcelino Nunez, Angus Gunn and the suspended Kenny McLean.

Borja Sainz’s 13th goal contribution in 13 Championship games had put the visitors in front; another viciously executed rising shot from outside the box.

But Thorup opted to switch to a back three and wing backs shortly after, and with tired bodies and minds strewn across the pitch, watched his team retreat into their defensive third in the final 15 minutes or so.

But even then it took a wrong-footing deflection to bamboozle George Long from Callum Robinson, before Callum O’Dowda whacked home a left footed finish to maintain Cardiff’s upward trajectory and make it feel a tortuously long trek home for the 1,300 travelling supporters.

The dejection was visible from those on the pitch in green and yellow at the final whistle. But there is no time to lick wounds in this league. To Sheffield, Tuesday, they go.

2. Sargent smokescreen

When Thorup spoke in the week about his desire to get his goal machine more involved in general play, he already knew that would be a project for the other side of November’s international period.

How much after remains to be seen, following scans that confirmed a groin injury, felt in last weekend’s gruelling 3-3 Championship comeback against Middlesbrough.

Thorup opted to keep Cardiff guessing in his pre-match briefing, but the sight of a team sheet minus Sargent would have drawn a sharp intake of breath from all quarters.

Whatever the residual issues about his overall influence in general play, Sargent remains an attacking focal point, a pressing talisman out of possession, and in a side configured to provide the service he relishes, one of the very best in the second tier.

He had mustered six goal contributions in his last six league outings, but the 24-year-old will not return for the trip to Sheffield Wednesday, or Bristol City’s Carrow Road visit.

Ante Crnac was the first to get a shot at leading the line in his absence in Wales. Nine minutes in, he looked like a wide player shunted into the central attacking role, when Emi Marcondes picked him out, but he wanted too much time to get it onto his left and Dimitrios Goutas intercepted.

But there was goal-creating passes for both Shane Duffy and Sainz as he grew into the role before, in his final act, he whipped a shot from the edge of the area past the near post, with Jak Alnwick beaten.

Much like his early City career to date, promising moments but you were left wanting more.

With Ashley Barnes the only other senior striker on the books, and the experienced forward not expected back in the mix until the other side of this upcoming international break, Sargent’s sidelining will inevitably ratchet up the urgency to address a thin part of Thorup’s squad in January.

Thankfully those ankle-related concerns are not the source of this latest spell of inactivity, but given the workload on Sargent to this point of a brutal Championship season, Norwich’s brains trust will surely have to consider alternative strategies to lessen the reliance on the US powerhouse.

3. Midfield minefield

Barely a couple of games ago Norwich’s midfield trio of McLean, Nunez and Slimane felt like it was taking on a degree of permanence.

There was something for everyone. McLean’s energy and endeavour to make tackles, cover ground and drive a side forward. Nunez’s precision from set pieces, his range of passing and shooting instincts, and the cleverness and awareness of Slimane to see pictures and paint them.

But with McLean suspended and both Nunez and Slimane ruled out on fitness grounds, Thorup’s Cardiff line up in a key area of his set up was the all-Danish ensemble of Jacob Sorensen, Marcondes and Gabe Forsyth.

To handle that much disruption arguably presented Thorup with his biggest on-pitch challenge yet.

Sorensen was press-ganged into a first start since a dead rubber at Birmingham on the final day of last season. But his experience was invaluable in a game where Norwich dominated possession before he made way prior to the late carnage.

There was a raking early ball for Oscar Schwartau, and signs of an understanding with Marcondes in those tight pockets of space. He also showcased his defensive instincts when he raced back inside his own six yard box to head clear an inswinging deep free kick late in the first half.

But that lack of available resource was painfully exposed when a closing midfield trio of Amankwah Forson, Doyle and the tiring Marcondes were unable to keep Cardiff away from the Canaries’ penalty box. Thorup has plenty of thinking to do before a midweek trip to Sheffield.

4. Best foot forward

In all the injury-enforced disruption easy to overlook there was still no route to a start for either Forson or Kaide Gordon.

Forson has struggled to exert his influence on a Championship midfield after falling down the pecking order behind Thorup’s senior options.

Liverpool loanee Gordon tuned out at development level recently in a quest for match minutes, and returned to notch a first career goal in the home romp over Hull, but had since only clocked up only 46 minutes on the park.

Implicit in Thorup’s encouraging words on both recently was a challenge to try and up the ante every day at Colney, so when match days roam into view the head coach had to wrestle with selection headaches of the welcome variety.

Thorup wants Forson to put pressure on the likes of McLean and crew, while Gordon should have been shadowing Crnac on the right of the attacking three, before his switch to deputise for Sargent.

Given the frontline options across midfield and forward areas will not return this coming week, for Forson and Gordon, or any of the other young hopefuls, the time is now.

Both were introduced from the bench, but Forson was too easily skipped past by O’Dowda for Cardiff’s late leveller, and then robbed inside his area by Rubin Colwill before his block saw the ball squirm to the Irishman to slam home a heartbreaking winner.

Thorup made it clear during his pre-match media he was intrigued to see which of the raw talent at his disposal would step forward in this testing spell. Forsyth certainly heeded his head coach’s works with a composed, confident display. His peers should take note.