For my input,I don't think the examiner was being pendantic making the candidate repeat an exercise for a loss of airspeed temporarily of three knots,i think thy examiner was a complete ****hole.
I would have had a not so quite word with them,had I been observing.
These types of individuals are the ones that make the sim a trapping tool rather than a training tool.Pilots are reluctant to object as they fear any reprisals but you would find that concerns can be raised through informal means and more than a couple of concerns would interest fleet managers etc.
Rgds,
Max.