Flint’s Impressive Maiden Foxes Season
It has been some debut season as a Fox for Flint, who finished the campaign with an FA Women’s Championship champions medal and as top goalscorer.
The forward is set to return to the top flight for the first time since her spell at Manchester City and will be hoping to push Leicester on to further successes in the upcoming campaign.
Arriving in the summer of 2020 following a two-and-a-half-year stint at Championship side Blackburn Rovers, Flint immediately hit the ground running for her new club.
Scoring twice on debut, ironically against her former employers, was the best possible beginning to life at Leicester, as she helped seal a 3-0 victory over Blackburn at Farley Way Stadium.
The second of those two stunning strikes won LCFC Women’s Goal of the Season prize at the Club’s Annual End of Season Awards, one of two honours that she received after the conclusion of a memorable 2020/21.
Flint also had a major part to play the following week as City travelled to face Sheffield United.
At 2-1 down in the final minute, with the Foxes appearing to be heading for a first defeat of the season, Flint stepped up to take a late penalty. There was never any doubt she would show nerves of steel and fire her side level to rescue a draw against the Blades.
After two games without a goal, she was back on the scoresheet in a 4-1 away success at Crystal Palace in October, soon followed by another two strikes to get City’s Continental Tyres League Cup campaign up and running against Blackburn.
Flint scored a first-half brace to help see off her old club for the second time of the season, triumphing 5-2 against the Lancashire outfit in Quorn to go straight to the top of Group E.
The biggest win of the season arrived in November and Flint was involved in several goals, scoring twice during the opening half as the Foxes produced a stellar performance to beat Coventry United 9-1 at Butts Park Arena.
Into December and the forward broke the deadlock just eight minutes into the home clash with London Bees, a fixture eventually won 3-0 as Leicester stormed to the top of the table for the first time this season.
The striker’s 10th goal of the campaign in all competitions came away at Charlton Athletic, setting up the visiting Foxes for a 2-0 victory at The Oakwood.
And in the final fixture before the winter break, another Flint double secured a hard fought 3-2 triumph over Blackburn to ensure Leicester would remain top of the pile at Christmas. It was also her fifth and sixth goals against her former club in just three matches.
Those four strikes in December earned Flint the Championship’s Player of the Month award, outlining her impressive first half of the season. And there was no letting up in the New Year, as she continued to find the net.
The opening match of 2021 saw Sheffield United visit Farley Way Stadium and it would be Flint who struck the decisive blow with 13 minutes to play to claim a 2-1 victory.
Four days later, City met Crystal Palace for their League Cup Quarter-Final clash and a tight encounter looked set for extra-time until Flint popped up with an unstoppable 89th-minute finish to send her team through to the last four for the first time in history.
Back to league matters, Flint showed her composure from the spot once more to restore parity with a confident penalty against promotion rivals Liverpool, a game the Foxes would go on to win 2-1.
Almost two months later, the forward was back among the goals, scoring in the 7-0 success at London Bees as Leicester continued to motor towards the league title.
And at the end of March, Flint’s brace sealed a 2-0 home win over Coventry United, putting City on the brink of being confirmed as second-tier champions.
That day came the following week. It was fitting that, following Sam Tierney’s opener, Flint scored the goal that sealed the title with a 2-0 triumph against London City Lionesses, a result which also extended the team’s winning run in the league to 12 matches.
City’s No.20 was not done there, though, and opened the scoring on LCFC Women’s King Power Stadium debut, a 4-0 victory over Charlton Athletic on the final day of the league campaign, which preceded the FA Women’s Championship trophy lift.
A total of 17 league goals across the season put her out in front as the only LCFC Women player to reach double figures with Lachante Paul (7) and Remi Allen and Paige Bailey-Gayle (5) the next highest scorers.
The former England Under-23s international narrowly missed out on collecting the Championship’s Golden Boot, finishing just one goal behind Sheffield United forward Katie Wilkinson’s 18 strikes.
However, she did scoop the Club’s Player of the Season award, voted for by the supporters, who were impressed with what they saw from Leicester’s main goal-getter after she tallied 21 strikes across all formats.
One last moment of magic was to come in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup Fifth Round clash away to top-tier side Manchester United. With the scores locked at 2-2, Flint managed to create space for a shot and send Leicester through to the next round, causing a big upset in the process.
Flint has proved her talent and now it’s almost time to produce on the biggest domestic stage of all, in the WSL.