OWEN James was left pinching himself after making his Oxford United debut in front of more than 27,000 fans at Ewood Park.

The 17-year-old from Finmere, near Buckingham, played the final seven minutes of the 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.

And the forward, who signed a professional contract earlier this season, was thrilled to get his first taste of the big time.

He said: “It was absolutely amazing to get some minutes, I just want to say thank you to the people who have helped me through.

“The stadium’s amazing and the atmosphere was as well. It was a really good place to make your debut.

“I had no idea I would be coming on – this was about seeing what it was like. But when I got the call I was buzzing.”

The teenager even had a crack at topping off a fairytale debut, but his stoppage-time effort flew off target.

He said: “I thought I should shoot and it went over, but I had a go and that’s what I’ll do.

“The gaffer just said ‘run around and enjoy it’, which I did.”