Vale eased into a 2-0 lead thanks to a second-half double from Tom Pope before Tom Adeyemi reduced the deficit with six minutes remaining to set up a tense finish.
Taylor said: "We looked nervous and lacked confidence in the first-half and then gave away two sloppy goals at the start of the second-half.
"We then livened up when we were 2-0 down, which is unacceptable because we should be lively when it's 0-0 to give ourselves a real chance of getting a result.
"Jake Speight did really well when he came on and he did everything he could to get us back into the game. He didn't have the best of service, but he caused Vale problems and gave me food for thought.
"I did think there was a hint of offside about Vale's second goal, but it stood and there is nothing we can do about it. We didn't play well enough as a team."
Source: PA
Source: PA