Adam Federici will put his Wembley blunder behind him when Reading take on Birmingham in the Sky Bet Championship , according to manager Steve Clarke . The Australian goalkeeper let a tame Alexis Sanchez shot slip through his grasp in the sixth minute of extra-time as the Royals were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Arsenal in Saturday 's FA Cup semi-final . It was a cruel blow for Federici , who had kept the Gunners at bay with a string of fine saves , but Reading boss Clarke is confident the 30-year-old will bounce back . Adam Federici fails to Alexis Sanchez 's shot from crossing the line at Wembley on Saturday evening . The Reading goalkeeper struggles to contain his emotions after his side 's FA Cup semi-final defeat . 'It 's the life of a goalkeeper , ' Clarke told Reading Player . 'Adam was obviously very upset because he feels responsible for the defeat . 'It 's much better in a game like that , that if you have to lose you lose to a moment of brilliance . That was n't the case . 'As I said after the game , we win together , we lose together . Adam is a strong character . All the players are 100 per cent behind him , the staff are 100 per cent behind him - he 'll bounce back . 'On Wednesday night when we play Birmingham , he 'll be typical Adam Federici - one of our best players . ' Federici will come up against an in-form striker in the shape of Clayton Donaldson . The 31-year-old former Brentford frontman is among the favourites to be named Blues ' player of the year after hitting 15 goals this season , and manager Gary Rowett admits he is 'almost undroppable ' . Reading boss Steve Clarke has backed Federici to bounce back against Birmingham in the Championship . 'He 's been brilliant , ' Rowett told the club website . 'He 's got a little bit of everything . He 's decent in the air , he 's got very good pace , he holds the ball up well for others , he 's got a little bit of physicality and he scores goals . ' I think he 's been as good as any striker in this division and I think we 're very lucky to have him . I think he 's the reason why we 've got some very good players like Lee Novak , Wes Thomas and Nikola Zigic , who have not played very much . ' I feel sorry for them but the reason is Clayton at the moment has been almost undroppable with his recent performances . '
Adam Federici allowed Alexis Sanchez 's shot to squirm through his legs . His error meant Arsenal advanced to the FA Cup final after extra-time . Reading boss Steve Clarke has backed his goalkeeper to get back on track . The Royals face Birmingham in the Championship on Wednesday night .