Anthony Daly believes that Kilkenny "gave up'" in their Allianz Hurling Division 1A defeat to Galway at Pearse Stadium.
A listless Kilkenny side were soundly thrashed by Galway, losing the match by 0-35 to 0-17, a scoreline which represented their biggest defeat since 1954.
There were only six points between the sides at half-time and while Galway were the better side in the opening half, there was little sign that they would outscore the Cats by 12 points after the interval.
The Tribesmen started the second half with seven unanswered points and speaking on Allianz League Sunday, Daly claimed that some Kilkenny players just downed tools after that point.
The former Clare and Dublin manager said: "I'm a massive Kilkenny fan, I've always been an admirer of everything they bring, but I saw fellas giving up near the end of that game.
"They wanted to get onto the bus and get out of there. I don't associate that with Kilkenny.
"We were lucky enough maybe once with the Dubs in a league final to beat them fairly well and we gave them a good trimming in a Leinster final, but they still didn’t give up.
"I saw two or three instances near the end where lads didn't go after it, didn't chase it, and that would be worrying for me.
"There's other things I suppose that they have to get right."
In search for a reason for Kilkenny’s poor performance, Daly did offer the theory that they may have come into the match still feeling the effects of the previous week’s clash with Cork.
The Cats certainly looked a different side in that game, and while they were beaten on a 3-12 to 1-15 scoreline by the Rebels, they put up a much stronger fight.
Galway by contrast came into the game of the back of a straight-forward eight point win over Waterford.
"The put a lot into the Cork game," Daly said. "I fancied Galway as a result of that because they had it very easy against Waterford and they thought they were much fresher.
"But the traits that they brought to the Cork game we just not there yesterday."
