Head coach Matt Sherratt identified Cardiff’s lack of discipline as the primary reason for their narrow defeat to Benetton Rugby at a wet and windy Stadio Monigo.
The Blue and Blacks were on the wrong end of the referee’s whistle and conceded 15 penalties and received three yellow cards in the 80 minutes.
They were however still able to cling onto the lead until the 76th minute when the hosts kicked the crucial late penalty.
“It wasn’t a night for a classic Cardiff performance in terms of attacking rugby, very greasy, wet ball, quite difficult conditions to play in,” said Sherratt.
“For patches, I thought we controlled the middle of the field pretty well in terms of our kicking game.
“When we got field position, we took our chances, but discipline was still a deciding factor tonight.
“It was a 15 to 8 penalty count, three yellow cards and it’s difficult enough coming away from home without that.
“That’s the difference probably in the game tonight.”
Cardiff leave Italy with a losing bonus point, which could be vital later in the season with the BKT United Rugby Championship table so tight.
Right now, it feels like scant reward for Sherratt and his men.
“Hopefully that point at the end of the season proves important, but at the moment, it feels like three points lost rather than a point gained.
“But as I said to the players at the end, that’s sport and eight days ago, we’re jumping around, holding Lions up last play of the game to get a win.
“This week, we’ve lost it with two minutes to go. It’s about probably being hurt, letting the dust settle, having a look through the game making sure that we don’t come in on Tuesday and feel sorry for ourselves.
“We come in Tuesday, get better at the areas that we can control and then attack an important competition on Saturday.
Cardiff’s focus now shifts to the EPCR Challenge Cup, with a round of 16 clash against Connacht in Galway on Saturday night.
Sherratt admits his team will feel the pain for the next couple of days from the defeat in Treviso, but they will need to get it out of their system by the time they return to training.
“Tuesday’s got to be about Connacht, and it will probably hurt tonight and tomorrow, which I’m sure the group will do because it was a tough end to the game,” added Sherratt.
“But, it’s a competition that the club’s got a great history in. The final is in our home city, so it’s something to try and look forward to when we let the dust settle on this result.