Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou leapt to the defence of Calum Ward after the goalkeeper blundered for Kilmarnock’s equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Fir Park.
The home side appeared to be on course for their first three-point haul of the season prior to George Stanger’s leveller in the 81st minute.
It appeared Ward was set to easily claim Lewis Mayo’s looping cross but he spilled the ball into the path of Stanger, who bundled home.
Askou felt his keeper was nudged by Robbie Deas in the build-up.
“If he doesn’t get nudged then he should do better but to me it looks like he got a subtle touch,” Askou said.
“That’s enough, for anyone who has tried to catch a ball, peddling backwards and at full-stretch — the slightest touch will have you off balance and risk you losing the ball.
“That’s what he’s said and I believe him. He’s caught these balls a million times, I’ve never seen him drop one before.
“We have to accept that sometimes there’s a blind spot in the system that we can’t do anything about. I don’t think the cameras were in our favour, the way they were set up.”
Motherwell have drawn all four of their Premiership fixtures so far this season.
For the second successive week, they have had to settle for a point despite finding themselves in a winning position.
Following Djenairo Daniels’ opener for Killie, Tawanda Maswanhise slammed home a leveller on the stroke of half-time before Emmanuel Longelo nudged them ahead just past the hour mark.
They have gained plenty of plaudits for their free-flowing style of play, though the Danish boss admits to feeling frustration as his side continue to search for a win.
“The dominance we had should have resulted in more goal chances and potentially an extra goal that would have given us the control they needed,” he added.
“That’s probably what I’m most unsatisfied by. Everyone is frustrated right now because we’ve progressed enormously as a team.”
Stuart Kettlewell was booed on his return to Fir Park but was pleased at his team’s character as they earned their fourth straight draw.
The Rugby Park gaffer drowned out the background noise as his team went ahead through Djenairo Daniels’ 19th-minute opener.
After finding themselves trailing going into the final 10 minutes, Killie produced a reaction and grabbed a late leveller when Stanger pounced on Ward’s error.
“I think we showed enough spirit to try and get back into it,” Kettlewell said.
“We need to show much more quality at times in possession and show a wee bit more aggression when we don’t have the ball.
“But I’m under no illusion, this was always going to be a difficult game against a team that’s got their tails up.
“It’s not about me. I came here to try to do a job for Kilmarnock and so did the players — I think we all conducted ourselves in a positive light.”
