Stan Hiamey may have missed out on the trip of a lifetime to watch football stars Lionel Messi and Neymar, but he insists he will come back stronger after his side narrowly lost in a national 5-a-side competition.

Hiamey led from the front as his Spartons side lost to North London’s Evolution 7-5 in a thrilling Gillette ProShield Cup final at Wembley Powerleague.

To celebrate the launch of the new Gillette Fusion ProShield, Gillette teamed up with Powerleague to find the best 5-a-side team in the country.

And 22-year-old Hiamey’s team rose to the challenge as they booked themselves a trip to the Home of Football by winning a regional competition – with the champions winning a trip to see five-time Champions League winners Barcelona play at the Nou Camp.

However, it was not to be for Spartons but Hiamey insists next time it will be a different story.

“We have learned where we made our mistakes and we have seen where we went wrong. Most importantly we know how to improve on those areas,” he said.

“We will get a tape of the game and review it all, and fix every single mistake.

“We are a strong group who have been friends for a long time and that will make a big difference in the days and weeks ahead as we prepare for the next ones.

“I think we have a lot of potential. It was not out day but we can very proud of our efforts.”

729 teams entered the tournament but only two could reach Wembley, with both winning regional qualifiers to get there.

Both teams earned themselves a Gillette goody bag, along with a trip to the Sky Sports studios and tickets to watch hit show Soccer AM.

And Hiamey, who works at supermarket chain Asda, described it as one of the biggest games of his career even though the result did not go as planned.

“We came fully prepared and we had a game plan but we did not execute it to start with. It was a long way down and it was an even longer journey back but we will learn from it,” he said.

“We will come stronger and better next year. There were a few decisions that did not go our way but that is football. They were physically strong and we struggled to cope.

“They were more organised than us and in such a high quality game it made a big difference. They are an experienced team.

“They know the game and they know how to win big games, but that will be us next time.”

And Gillette Brand Manager Matt Thomas was still impressed by what he saw from Spartons despite their narrow defeat.

“Well done to Spartons FC who finished as runners up in the 2016 Gillette ProShield Cup and have proved themselves to be one of the best 5-a-side teams in the country," said Thomas.

“Ultimately the team finished in second place behind worthy winners North London’s Evolution, but the team should be proud of their achievements and we’d like to wish them the best of luck in future tournaments where they can go one stage further.”