Chairman James Lawson couldn’t believe what he was seeing as Ramsgate upset Woking in the FA Cup First Round.

A sell-out crowd of 3,000 at Southwood on Saturday saw goals from TJ Jadama and Lee Martin secure a 2-1 win over the Cards.

The hosts - 62 places below their opponents in the pyramid - came from behind to win the biggest match in their history.

Their reward - a place in round two for the first time - and a trip to League 2 club AFC Wimbledon at the start of December.

Lawson was just happy to have a home draw against Woking, to give as many locals as possible a chance to be there.

But he was in for a surprise as Ramsgate, who upset AFC Totton 1-0 in the final qualifying round, raised their game again to pull off a far bigger scalp and take their prize money this season to just over £63,000.

“We said we wanted a home draw so local people could have the party, the kind that 400 of us had in Totton, but I never really believed we could do this,” said Lawson.

“Woking are 12th in the National League but what a team we’ve got - those boys out there were sensational.

“I think going a goal down actually settled them on the pitch. It seemed to.

“I just can’t stop saying this enough, for local people in this town to have that moment, it will never be forgotten.

“It will probably never be repeated - sensational.

“We had 3,000 people in and we could easily have sold 5 or 6,000 tickets.

“What a day. The fan group are so young now.

“You look around, how many kids are here? They’ll always remember it.”

Lawson has put the community at the heart of everything he’s done since becoming chairman in 2019, whether it’s the club coaching kids, feeding them or even sending them on helicopter rides during the school holidays.

He’s rebuilt from the ground up and Ramsgate are reaping the rewards. They deserve their day in the sun.

Lawson has been around the club since 1987, when dad Richard became chairman, and, quite simply, he cares.

“I’ve grown up at the club,” said Lawson.

“We’ve had some great days and we’ve had some bad ones as well. Beating Woking is right up there.

“I think what people like is I make it about others - I try to make it about the local people.

“Ultimately it’s no one’s club, no one person, it is the town’s football team.

“I’ve been here since 1987, when I was five years old, and I feel that, I recognise that.

“There’s some great things you can do in football, with the platform it provides you, and I enjoy sharing it.

“I don’t know, but I think that’s what people like.

“I always wanted it to be like this. I’ve got young kids who are playing youth football, so it was a 3G pitch, a big youth section.

“I always wondered why no one had ever built a club from the youth section upwards, why they never made the coaches and the players and the parents supporters, so I thought I’d have a go and it seems to have gone pretty well so far.”

There’s another call that seems to have gone pretty well - the appointment of manager Ben Smith last summer.

There was no shortage of interest after Jamie Coyle stood down following last season’s play-off semi-final defeat by Hythe.

Smith had been due to take another job but agreed to meet Lawson - and the rest is history.

“Because we’ve got a good budget and we’re fairly well-supported, lots of good names wanted to be our manager,” said Lawson.

“But Ben being the deputy head of a local primary school and a very good manager in his own right, plus he plays really attacking football, it made it a no-brainer.

“He’s a great guy, really laid-back and great company.”