Ramsgate have a mind-reader in their ranks in midfielder Lewis Gard.

The former Tonbridge man provided the entertainment before Rams’ FA Cup third qualifying round tie at Brackley on Saturday.

With the squad enjoying an overnight stay, Gard’s magic tricks were a talking point at the hotel, with victims including Lee Martin.

The result didn’t go Ramsgate’s way, despite an excellent performance, as three late goals saw them beaten 4-1 by their National League North opponents.

But the weekend was also about a new squad spending time together and getting to know each other.

“From team quizzes to Gardy’s magic tricks, it was a good trip and ticked all the boxes in terms of what we wanted,” said manager Ben Smith.

“The only thing that didn’t go for us was the result we wanted but, long-term, watching us on Saturday was quite exciting.

“Gardy’s got some magic tricks up his sleeve - he reads people’s minds.

“He had a lot of people going for it, that’s for sure.

“That was quite a funny one, seeing him reading Lee Martin’s mind.

“He asks three different questions and he reads your mind to guess the answers.

“Obviously there’s a trick to it, rather than it being magic, but the boys just couldn’t believe he had the same answers.

“Once Lee got it, he couldn’t believe he fell for it.

“He read my mind, he did quite a few of the boys.”

Ramsgate gave a good account of themselves at Brackley, where Joe Taylor cancelled out Danny Newton’s opener.

It remained 1-1 until the 84th minute when Scott Pollock struck, and further goals followed from Newton and Shane Byrne as Rams chased the game.

“It was quite a bizarre game, to be honest,” said Smith.

“We looked really comfortable, we controlled the game in terms of possession, which you don’t really expect with us playing a team two leagues higher away from home.

“I came away a little bit baffled how we lost 4-1, as were their management and supporters.

“We won a lot of plaudits on the day and although it was nice to hear and nice to see, I was gutted for the players because I thought they deserved more than they got out of the game.

“Their third goal is a country mile offside and that was frustrating because it’s the final nail in the coffin.

“Our game plan was to take it 10 minutes at a time but once you’re in the game and feeling the way we were, when we got to 1-1, we made changes to go and win the game.

“It looked like the least we were going to get was a replay but it wasn’t to be.

“We’ve shown we can compete at higher levels, it’s just harder getting there than it is doing it.

“We’ve shown where we can go as a club, that’s for sure.”

Ramsgate host last season’s Isthmian South East title rivals Cray Valley in the FA Trophy third qualifying round this Saturday (3pm).

The Millers pipped the Rams by six points after a ding-dong battle.

“We’ll rotate the squad, it’s a case of getting everyone minutes before we go back to the bread and butter of the league,” said Smith.

“It won’t be either of our priorities but it’s a game of football and you want to win it.

“Credit to Cray Valley for what they did last season.

“They’ve got a great set-up and good people running their club.

“Hats off to them and complete respect.

“Although you don’t want other teams to have success over you, you can’t begrudge them.”