Lily Priest was recently appointed to her first ever international fixture, where she was one of the Assistant Referees in the friendly between England and Germany Women’s U17s at St George’s Park.

Prior to the game, Lily had stated that she was excited at the opportunity to be visiting St George’s Park for the first time and she was not disappointed. “The grounds and Facilities at St George's Park along with the pitch were amazing! Everything around St George's Park was immaculate and it was a great experience.”

Although there were some pre-match nerves, Lily spoke about how much she enjoyed the experience. “I found the experience exciting. It's hard to choose one thing that I found the most enjoyable however I'd probably say that walking out and having the National Anthems of England and Germany played was one of my favourite moments.”

Lily was part of a team that included Women’s Super League Referee Lauren Impey, whom Lily was keen to learn from. “It was a great experience speaking to Lauren who was the referee for the game, and I learnt a lot from listening to her and seeing how she refereed along with the advice and tips she gave me to help me to improve.”

Lily is now back to refereeing grassroots games in Essex, but she will draw on her international experience when refereeing her future games. “I picked up lots of helpful tips that Lauren used during the game which I can now incorporate into my own game when I referee.”

“I am going to try to implement the use of moving all the way down to the goal line even when the ball has clearly been kicked over whether that be from a shot, tackle or pass. I will also try and improve the way I communicate on the pitch after listening to Lauren.”

Congratulations once again to Lily on being a part of the refereeing team for the friendly. If you would like to read the full match report from the game, please click here.