'Third goal killed us off': Taylor

South Melbourne boss Chris Taylor admitted Sydney FC’s third goal proved decisive as his side fell to a 5-1 Semi-Final loss to the Hyundai A-League Champions on Wednesday night.

After trailing 2-0 at half time, the Victorian PS4 NPL outfit pegged a goal back just after the break and put Graham Arnold’s side under enormous pressure as they chased an equaliser.

But quick-fire goals to Bobo and Sebastian Ryall snuffed out any chance of a comeback before Matt Simon iced the game late on for the visitors.

Taylor felt his side struggled with fatigue in the second stanza but admitted Bobo’s second strike of the night – and Sydney’s third – was crucial.

“We knew at half time, 2-0 down but we created three or four decent chances,” Taylor told Fox Sports.

“They created chances as well, they’re always going to do that.

“We knew if we kept battling away we’d get a chance, put it away and then the game changed for 20 minutes. It was quite a contest.

“That third goal kind of killed us off and I think after that it was a non-event.”

Sydney FC raced out of the blocks with winger David Carney firing the Sky Blues ahead inside the opening five minutes, though replays suggested he was marginally offside.

Taylor said his side needed some luck to progress to the final but admitted it just wasn’t their night at Lakeside Stadium.

“We spoke about it before the game, you need that bit of luck,” Taylor said.

“I don’t think anything went our way tonight. A couple of decisions went against us.

“Against a team like Sydney, you need everything going your way. It didn’t happen tonight, so we bowed out.”