Cardiff salvaged a losing bonus-point as Perpignan hung on for a hard-fought victory in the European Challenge Cup. 

The Blue & Blacks trailed 10-3 at half-time, following a powerful performance from the hosts, who scored all their points through Tomasso Allen. 

Cardiff made more of their opportunities count in the second-half and tries from Rey Lee-Lo and Johan Muller, as well as the boot of Tinus de Beer saw them within touching distance in the closing stages but they ran out of time and were unable to overturn the deficit.

Matt Sherratt made nine changes for the encounter, with rotation and injuries beginning to mount. Regan Grace was handed his debut just days after joining the club from Bath, while Rhys Barratt made his first start. 

The Blue & Blacks had not faced Perpignan since the 2005-06 season, where the powerful Catalan outfit claimed a Heineken Cup double. Cardiff knew they would need to get something at Stade Aime Giral as they target a place in the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup

Cardiff played against a strong wind in the first half and the hosts took the lead after three minutes thanks to the boot of Italy international Tomasso Allen. 

The Blue & Blacks responded well and an opportunity was quickly created down the right flank but Cam Winnett was clattered with a thunderous hit, man and ball. 

A clever kick to the corner put Perpignan on the ropes but the hosts escaped thanks to a clever trick play and soon went on the attack thanks to their powerful set-piece. 

The opportunity came after a slight fumble from Regan Grace with the ball trickling over the try-line after it caught the wind. The hosts set up camp and piled the pressure on Matt Sherratt’s side but twice made mistakes in midfield as Cardiff survived.

Cardiff enjoyed good periods with both Tom Bowen and Grace looking dangerous with ball in and and the forwards offloading to good effect. 

It was an offload from Alex Mann that sent Josh McNally galloping into space mid-way through the first-half but he was dragged down by Allen, with the help of reinforcements. A couple of phases later, Cam Winnett dabbed a grubber through, which forced the hosts to take the ball over their own line with Grace working hard to ensure Cardiff earned a scrum five. 

Now it was Cardiff piling on the pressure at the set-piece with their scrum rumbling forward to earn a penalty and De Beer kicked to the corner. 

The Blue & Blacks opted for a shortened line out and after the maul failed to make significant yards, Evan Lloyd burst off the back. Cardiff went through the phases but Perpignan forced a turnover after making the breakdown a free for all on the left. 

De Beer levelled the scores on 35 minutes, after a strong spell from Cardiff, which almost saw Rey Lee-Lo breakthrough and forced Perpignan to infringe at the breakdown. 

With the strong wind continuing to swirl behind the hosts backs, they kicked dead from the restart, handing Cardiff the opportunity to split the field with a half-way scrum. 

They launchd the attack don the left but were penalised when Rory Jennings was deemed not to have released the ball after he was not held in the tackle. 

Now it was the Catalan’s opportunity to go on the attack but they continued to spill possession and Tom Bowen went on the counter. 

However it soon stuck for the hosts where they attacked down the right and with Alex Mann carrying and injury and a shortage of numbers they created an overlap. 

Winnett bravely tackled giant Fijian wing Tavite Veredamu but he was able to offload to Allen, who crossed and converted to take his tally to 10-0 on the stroke of half-time. 

Cardiff forced a penalty early virtually straight from the restart and kicked to the corner. They played a set move from the line out, which saw Aled Davies find Alun Lawrence on the wrap around but he was stopped in his tracks. 

They went through the phases and after tapping another penalty and going through another succession of phases, slim hands from Jennings put his centre partner Lee-Lo powering over for his 30th try in Cardiff colours.

De Beer added the extras to level the scores but minutes later Allen nudged the hosts back in front with a simple penalty. 

Just two minutes later, Perpignan landed a hammer blow as Apisai Naqalevu made an outside break and found plenty of support on his right. The ball was spread through the hands to Tavite Veredamu for a simple finish in the corner.

Allen failed to maintain his 100 per cent strike rate from the touchline and when Perpignan dropped the restart, Grace almost pounced for a sucker punch try. However, the Blue & Blacks were soon given a penalty and De Beer made it 18-13.

A loose pass in midfield almost saw Cardiff shoot themselves in the foot, with Perpignan rampaging down the right. The attack saw Grace and Davies require treatment with the former helped off following a lengthy TMO intervention. 

Fortunately, replays showed Perpignan had failed to score and Cardiff defended the next five minutes manfully, but Davies soon followed Grace off the pitch.

Despite Cardiff’s efforts, they just could not get away from their line as Perpignan turned the screw and Lucas Velarte eventually crossed from the back of a powerful scrum. 

Allen was again off target, leaving the score at 23-13, and the hosts were reduced to 14 men when Jake McIntyre was rightly sent to the bin for cynically slapping down a Cam Winnett pass, which should have led to a try. 

Cardiff kicked to the corner but were unable to rumble over and were soon turned over but they came roaring back. 

Lee-Lo turned scorer to provider, as he took the ball to the line and offloaded to De Beer at pace. The fly-half could probably have made the line but he put his South African compatriot Johan Muller over with an inside pass for his first Cardiff try. 

De Beer landed the conversion despite the best efforts of the swirling wind and Cardiff now trailed by just three points at 23-20. 

The home side were able to wind down the clock in the closing stages, and cling on for a narrow victory.