Hawes Wimbledon hockey club’s head coach Ben Hawes admitted the gulf was clear after his charges’ first foray into Europe ended in defeat.

A 3-1 defeat to Amsterdam last weekend ended the Dons’ Euro Hockey League dream at the first hurdle – although Phil Roper has the accolade of scoring the club’s first ever competitive European goal.

But the season is not over yet because, having finished fourth in the MHL Premier Division table, reigning champions Wimbledon now head to the play-offs on April 16 and 17.

They will face top of the table Holcombe, and they must win to reach the final against either Surbiton or Reading and once again take their place at European hockey’s top table.

Hawes said: “We went there to do our best, but we were playing for the first time at that level, and we were also coaching for the first time at that level – it was new to both me and Ben [Marsden].

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“Amsterdam train four or five teams a week and are virtually a full-time club, whereas we cannot do that.

“So realistically there is a gulf between the clubs’ standards and the level of execution.”

He added: “But there were some pleasing aspects in how we played and how we stayed competitive to the very end.

“It was a valuable experience, given we were playing one of the favourites for the competition and an extremely talented side.

“But the result was a fair reflection of the match, we did well at times to keep it to 3-1, and there were also times when we could have scored again.”

Despite the disappointment of defeat, Hawes took the positives from time away bonding as a team and the effect that could have come the play-offs at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre.

“It was a great weekend in that we spent time together as a team – we have a team full of quality players and having that time together and getting in some sustained training, which we normally cannot do, is important in the run-up to the play-offs,” he said.

“We face Holcombe first and it will be a tough match because they went through the season unbeaten and they have quality players.

“Last year we went into the play-offs blind, which helped in some ways, and now we go into it knowing the levels we need to be heading towards to get back into Europe.”

A host of Dons stars have now joined the GB team including Ali Brogdon, who missed half the Amsterdam with injury.

Hawes said: “Ali was a big loss as he is an excellent player and captain, so we’re hoping he comes back from GB duty ok.

“We get them all back a week before the play-offs, so we’ve got fingers crossed that everyone comes back in one piece.”