Stoke booked their place in round four of the FA Cup, and a trip to Wolves, after a Jon Walters double in extra time finally put Cardiff to the sword.
It was Walters who had the games first shot but his 20 yard drive was easily saved.
City were forced into an early reshuffle when Danny Higginbotham was forced off with a hamstring injury, Michael Tonge taking his place on the field but not before Danny Drinkwater shot straight at Sorensen from the edge of the box.
The only other real chance for the Potters was a Whelan effort that drifted harmlessly wide of the far post.
The game was scrappy to say the least and neither side seemed to get going in the opening 90 minutes but Ryan Shotton did have a couple of chances early in the second half but directed both his headers, from corners, over the crossbar.
Cardiff introduced Chopra to try and grab a winner but even the Cardiff talisman couldn't inspire the hosts, Keogh crisply driving wide when well placed before Soares shot was blocked on the line after being picked out by Shotton, just moments after stepping off the bench.
The hosts main man Chopra did try and cheat his way to victory in added on time but the referee refused to buy his dive and waved play on after the striker through himself to the ground expecting a Danny Collins tackle that never came.
It didn't take City long to break the deadlock in extra time though as Walters slipped in at the near post to head Tonge's corner into the net after barely a minute of the extra thirty.
Cardiff still didn't respond and Whelan nearfly sealed the game when he drilled in a 30-yard effort midway through the second period but his ferocious shot was deflected over.
The game was finished though when, following some good football from the corner, the ball was slid to Walters inside the box. His forst angled shot was parried out by the keeper but, after showing superior strength to barge the defender out of the way, he rolled the ball under the keeper and inside the far post.