The forward hit a hat-trick in a sensational 8-0 Women’s FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest to leapfrog Nikita Parris in the Club’s goalscoring charts, writing her name into the history books.
Speaking to mancity.com after the game, the 23-year-old says she was ‘made up’ to have accomplished the feat and felt hungry to do so once introduced from the bench at the break.
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“It feels unbelievable,” she said. “I’m happy to have come on today and get the job done.
“It’s something I wanted to do by the end of the season and I’m happy to have ticked it off.
“I’m massively honoured to have taken over Keets because I know how much of an unbelievable player she is.
“I’ll enjoy the moment and hopefully someone can beat me because that means the game is getting better.
“I was fortunate to come on at half-time. I put a little bit of pressure on myself, telling myself that if I came on, today would be the day I would break the record.
“I picked up some good positions. The first one was actually a cross but I’ll take it – it ended up going in!
“It doesn’t matter how you score as long as it goes in the back of the net and that was key today. They put five at the back so it’s about breaking them down, having the patience in the build-up and doing everything right to get those chances.
“With a hat-trick, there was no better way to be able to do it – and with a win in which two Academy girls (Ginny Lackey and Jemima Dahou) made their debuts.
“It’s a very successful day to be a City fan!
“For me, the record is done now and I can crack on for the rest of the season. I put myself under a bit of pressure, which paid off, and I’m made up to have been able to do it, especially on a great pitch with the fans unbelievable for both teams.
“It’s a very positive individual achievement and hopefully, I can continue to get it higher!”
With Academy stars Lackey and Dahou experiencing their first tastes of senior football, Stanway says she could not have been more proud to see youngsters following in her own footsteps.
“I’m absolutely made up for the two girls who made their debuts today,” she added. “That’s something that as a Club, we do really well: giving the next generation the opportunity like I was.
“It gives them a little snippet of what they’re capable of and what they want to be part of 24/7. If they can have that hunger inside to get to where we are, they’ll have an unbelievable future.”
City have little time to celebrate with a Continental Cup semi-final visit of Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night before a crunch league trip to Chelsea on Sunday.
Stanway believes her side can ride the crest of the wave with our excellent recent form to finish the season strongly, as we chase silverware once more.
“We started the season in a sticky situation so it was important we put those results right,” she continued.
“We’ve done that in the second half of the season and we have to keep that momentum going, trying to play the way we play to and keep putting ourselves in the best position for the results at the weekend: whether that’s on the grass or in the gym, doing everything we can do and doing everything right as individuals to get the results we need.”
