The teenager – a summer recruit – gained her first minutes in Wednesday night’s Continental Cup group opener against Everton, as Gareth Taylor’s side stormed to a 5-1 victory.
Mace produced a solid display at centre-back, completing the full 90 minutes and handling the dangerous duo of Everton stars Toni Duggan and Valerie Gauvin well.
Reflecting on her maiden appearance, the youngster told mancity.com she was ‘buzzing’ – proud to have shown what she is capable of and already seeking her next opportunity to impress.
“It feels incredible,” she smiled. “I don’t even have words to describe it!
“I’m so happy and honoured to have been able to play with the girls.
“I was buzzing when I found out I’d be in the starting XI. We’d worked on it a little bit in training so I had an idea but when my name was read out, it felt so good!
“I’m happy with me performance. There are still things I need to improve but I think it was good overall.
“I haven’t been rushing things during my time at City. I’m happy that Gareth sees my ability and I’m grateful that he trusts me to play with the other girls but I’m glad he didn’t throw me in at the deep end.
“Before the game, he told me to be happy and enjoy it – to play my own football and not stress too much.
“That was really good advice and that’s what I did, and the other girls were helping me through everything I needed to do. Their support and experience really helped me.
“I think I did well. I felt okay before the game and then during the game, I knew they had clever players so I had to switch on and think more about what they might do next.
“Everyone was so proud of me afterwards and that makes me so happy.”
The triumph, earned with ruthless second half display, saw City return to winning ways with five different names on the scoresheet: Caroline Weir, Khadija Shaw, Lauren Hemp, Jess Park and Ellen White.
Mace reserved praise for her fellow teenager Park, who also impressed in Saturday’s Manchester Derby thriller at Manchester United, but hailed the efforts of the full squad.
“It felt amazing,” she added. “It was a solid performance from everyone – all of the girls put a shift in and worked hard right to the end.
“Even at 2-1 up, we didn’t back off – we kept fighting, wanting more goals and I’m really proud.
“I’m really happy for Jess. She works so hard in training and I’m really proud that she was able to make an impact again and get on the scoresheet this time.
“It boosts everyone’s confidence going forward – everyone is on the front foot and ready to go.
“Players are doing well in training to prove we can be better than results have shown.
“I can’t wait to see what’s next and hopefully, I can get some more gametime.”
