THIS is what happened when the Us met the ewes.

Oxford United players swapped football for farming for a day when they visited a unique Oxford charity.

Defender Chey Dunkley and forward Marvin Johnson spent the afternoon with FarmAbility, which gives adults with learning disabilities a chance to get real work experience on a working farm in Wytham just outside Oxford.

With several of the 'co-farmers' big Yellows fans, atmosphere was at fever pitch when the players arrived on Friday.

None was more excited than Paul, a United fan who lives near the stadium and usually wears an Oxford jersey to work.

He not only got to meet his heroes – they even gave him a ticket to their match against Shrewsbury on Saturday.

He said afterwards: "I loved meeting Chey and Marvin, they’re really nice.

"I’ve followed Oxford for a very long time and it was amazing to watch them play at the ground. I knew they’d win. They’re Oxford – they’re the best."

FarmAbility runs its work sessions at FAI Farms in Wytham.

Co-farmers go into work at least once a week to do meaningful tasks on the farm including working in the garden, working with the animals and helping things run smoothly.

Recently they have been helping feed the orphan lambs, so the co-farmers took their visitors there, giving them a real taste of life on a farm.

Program manager JP O'Connor said: "It’s a bit different to the manicured grass at the Kassam Stadium, but the players seemed to have a great time.

"They seemed to be really interested in what it was like to work on the farm, and were great at answering questions about how often they trained and what they’d be doing now that the season was ending and they could go on a holiday.

"A lot of our co-farmers are massive football fans – like any workplace we have a lot of banter while we’re working or meeting or having lunch, and there’s always a lot of chat about whose team is better and how they did in the weekend’s game.

"There’s a fair amount of support for Manchester United, but the most popular team is definitely Oxford United."

He added: "It was a fantastic event, and we’re so grateful to Chey and Marvin for giving up their afternoons to come and meet us. It’s going to be something which our co-farmers will talk about for months – I suspect that our Friday afternoon kick-arounds will get a bit more serious now that they’ve got new heroes to compare themselves to."