When the conversation turns to who would be on the short list of the best central defenders to play for the Dragons Kevin Hughes’ name is in the mix. As a 15 year old at Norwich City he was certainly playing in good company. “I was in the same team as Craig Bellamy, Rio Ferdinand and Adrian Forbes to name but three. In fact nine of that side went on to be professionals.” Unfortunately Kevin was not offered a YTS place which, not surprisingly, was a big disappointment. “Had I had two years playing football full time that would have improved me. Had someone taken me aside and worked on my heading, I feel I could have made it back then” he reflected a decade later. Kevin joined Wivenhoe Town’s successful Under-18’s set up and I can remember Manager Ken Ballard being impressed by his pace. “I was the Essex District sports champion over 200 metres as a youngster” he revealed which accounted for his ability to cover across the back line with ease.
The sudden departure of Paul Griffiths saw Manager Steve Dowman draft Hughsie into the First Team and he made his debut on Saturday 14th September 1996 against Tilbury at Broad Lane. Although the Dragons went down 0-1 both Dowman and the Wivenhoe fans were impressed by the 17 year olds’ composed performance and the club’s Management moved quickly to put him under contract. By November he was attracting the scouts of professional clubs such as Queens Park Rangers, Leyton Orient and Huddersfield Town whose manager Brian Horton was showing a particular interest at the time as Kevin made 30 successive appearances in the Dragons line up before sustaining a dead leg injury. He also played a part in the Under-18’s Eastern Junior Alliance League North East Title winning side the same season.
Pic: Back Row (left to right) Steve Wright, Dan Daly, Lee Neale, Steve Dowman, Kevin Hughes, Kenny Vincent, Lloyd Pentney. Front Row (left to right) Alan Edwards, Joff March, Steve Henson, Lee Abrehart, Glen Cowan.
Kevin began the 1997/98 campaign impressively as, not only did Orient continue to track his progress, his former club Norwich City started to take notice but he unfortunately went on to suffer an injury disrupted season. This did not stop the continued interest in his talents and during the build up to the start of the 1998/99 campaign Peter Morris, manager of Conference League outfit Kettering Town, seemed close to taking Kev on loan but in the end the move did not happen however Colchester United did take him on trial and he made one appearance for them in the Avon Combination. “At least I can look back and say I played at Highbury for Colchester Reserves against Arsenal. It’s something to treasure and tell the kids one day” he reflected a few years later. Unfortunately, for both Hughsie and the Dragons, his season was once again disrupted for six weeks with a back injury sustained during a 4-1 win at Bracknell Town and, later on, a hamstring pull. Working his was back to fitness in the Reserves he suddenly found himself a “prolific” goal scorer by his standards having not found the net for the First Team as he hit the target 5 times as he helped the Dragons’ Second String win the Essex & Suffolk Border League Third Division Title as well the Tommy Thompson Cup.
Pic: Wivenhoe Town’s successful Border League side.
Hughsie finally broke his First Team scoring drought in a 2-0 away win at Chalfont St Peter on 9th October 2000 and in making 46 appearances he was one of the team’s outstanding performers as he formed an impressive partnership alongside Gary Hudson. The Dragons benefited from another 47 appearances from Kevin at the heart of their defence as they came so close to gaining promotion from the Isthmian League Second Division in 2000/01. His final game in a Wivenhoe shirt came in a 1-3 defeat at Aveley on 26th November 2002 where he signed off by netting our consolation goal. Aged 22 he had decided to join the police force and looking back upon his decision to leave Broad Lane he said “It was difficult to combine my first year in the police with playing football at that level and I felt I wasn’t doing myself justice in games.” Although all of us thought this was being harsh on himself, his mind was made up and he called it a day with 194 appearances to his name and 4 goals.
Pic: Hughes in action v Colchester United.
Right from the outset Kev’s quality stood out with his 6’5″ frame and ability to play with the ball at his feet. His talents were always going to be in demand and Steve McGavin persuaded him to join Eastern Counties League Premier Division outfit Harwich & Parkeston. From there it was on to Needham Market then AFC Sudbury where his injury curse struck again as he spent most of the 2006/07campaign on the sidelines. He joined Stanway Rovers in the summer of 2008 but once again had an injury disrupted campaign in 2009/10. He eventually linked up with the upwardly mobile Brightlingsea Regent and was their Supporters’ Player Of The Season as they gained promotion to the Eastern Counties League Premier Division in 2012/13 as well as winning the Division One Cup. Kevin was then part of their promotion success to the Isthmian League before deciding to hang up his boots however a change of mind saw him return to training with the North Road outfit but, unfortunately, cruel luck struck once again as he suffered a ruptured Achilles heel in a pre season friendly. As mentioned at the beginning of this article Hughsie will always be remembered as one of the best young talents to put on a Dragons shirt and it was great to see him eventually return to Broad Lane to be involved in coaching within the Youth set up.
