Steve Clarke offered his full support to Adam Federici, after the goalkeeper was left distraught by his glaring error in extra time that led to Reading’s 2-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat against Arsenal.
The 30-year-old Australian, who has been at the club since 2005, allowed Alexis Sánchez’s low shot in the 105th minute to go through his legs and over the line, to effectively kill Reading’s hopes of a first FA Cup final in their 144-year history.
Federici had previously made good saves and none better than on 69 minutes, when he clawed the substitute Gabriel Paulista’s header up against the crossbar and out to safety. However, he was left in tears at the full-time whistle after his howler from Sanchez’s effort.
“This is the life of a goalkeeper and Adam is a top goalkeeper,” Clarke, the Reading manager, said. “There’s every chance that he will be the Reading player of the season. His performances in the Championship have been absolutely crucial. We stick by him. We don’t lose because of Adam.
“Everybody supports him. Adam is a strong character as well. He’ll take his disappointment on the chin and on Wednesday night, when we play Birmingham at home, he’ll be as good as he always is.”
The Reading striker Jamie Mackie said: “Federici has been our best player this season. If it wasn’t for him, we’d be in the bottom three. We win together and we lose together.”
Clarke praised a “near perfect” performance from his team, while he highlighted a couple of dubious offside decisions, which pulled back Mackie and Pavel Pogrebnyak when they were clean through. He was upset, too, that Mathieu Debuchy was not penalised for a 66th-minute handball. “His hand is out here and he stops the cross from going in,” Clarke said. “It’s a penalty. These are the moments that you need in a game like this.”
Arsène Wenger, who reported that Per Mertesacker had been forced off with an ankle injury that did not “look too good”, could now become the first modern-day manager to win six FA Cups.
“In the end, we were a bit lucky because the keeper made a mistake and I can understand that he is distraught, but he kept them in the game for long periods,” Wenger said. “Reading were ready to die on the pitch to go to this final and you have to congratulate them for the effort they put in.”
Wenger said that he was unaware of Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester United, which moved them closer to the Premier League title. When he was told of the result, he said: “Ah, 1-0. Usual.”
