Such is the passing of time that the majority of Torquay United fans who were born after 2002 wouldn't have seen Kevin Hill make any of his record 474 appearances in all competitions for the Gulls.
When he first joined United in the summer of
1997, few could have imagined that he would one day overtake Dennis Lewis’ seemingly
untouchable club appearance record and become a bonafide Torquay United legend
in the process.
As a youngster, he had been rejected by Exeter City for
being ‘too small, not strong enough and couldn’t win headers.’ If you consider
that he gained the reputation for being able outjump players far taller than
his five feet nine inch frame, you begin to wonder just how wrong you can be
about somebody!
I've often wondered how I would describe what kind of player Hilly, primarily a left winger - who also filled in at left-back, centre midfield, centre back and even centre forward, was.
First of all, I would say that he was physically average; he was quick, without being super quick; he was strong, without being bulky and at standing at five feet nine, he certainly wasn't the tallest.
However, the latter on the above list never stopped him from being able to outjump players far taller than him. Nevertheless there was more to him as a player than that, as well as having incredible work rate and stamina, he could deliver a decent cross and his knack of making runs into the box also helped him score a number of goals; he finished the 2000-01 season as United's top scorer with ten.
Having got to know Hilly during my brief time working for the club as programme editor towards the end of his 11 years at Plainmoor between 1997 and 2008, I can also say he is the most positive person that I've ever known and a shrewd judge of character. Two traits that have served him well as a manager of Exmouth Town, who he has helped guide from the South West Peninsula League to the Southern League Division One South.
I'll leave you now with a selection of five of his most memorable moments in a Torquay United shirt, many of which can be found on Youtube.
1.
Versus Stockport County (H) New Year’s Day 2004.
On the stroke of half-time, with the game poised at 0-0,
Stockport keeper Neil Cutler was poised to take a goal kick, but little did he
know that Hilly was standing behind him.
Hilly then preceded to nick the ball off Cutler before
calmly slotting home into an unguarded net to give United the lead with
arguably the cheekiest goal ever scored by a Torquay United player.
2.
Versus Barnet (A) May 5, 2001.
United’s brief heading into their final day decider with
Barnet at Underhill was simple: avoid defeat or face relegation from the
Football League for the first time ever.
Playing down Underhill’s famous slope in the first half, the
Gulls took the lead on ten minutes when Jason Rees found the back of the net
with a 25 yard strike. In the 25th minute, Hilly doubled the Gulls
lead when he rose highest to head home a corner from the late Paul Holmes to
give United an invaluable two-goal cushion. It was also his tenth goal of the
season, which put him top of United’s goal scoring charts.
David Graham later added a third just before half time, but
Barnet pulled two goals back before forcing the Gulls to survive a late
onslaught and Hilly was one of a number of players who made several important
blocks to keep the Bees at bay.
3.
Versus Carlisle United (A) April 29, 2006.
Once again, United found themselves looking to complete
another ‘great escape’ and they headed to League Two champions elect Carlisle
United needing a result to avoid what would be a second successive relegation.
After keeping the Cumbrians’ strike duo of former Sunderland
and Leeds frontman Michael Bridges and Karl Hawley, who would later find his
way to Plainmoor in his career, at bay before Hilly gave the Gulls the lead on
eight minutes.
Jo Kuffour drifted out to the right and produced a cross
which picked out Hilly and he leapt off the ground and headed home to score his
ninth of the campaign, with what could be described as the nearest thing to
human flight as he appeared to hang in the air momentarily!
Four minutes before half-time, Kuffour went from being
provider to scorer with a shot on the turn following good work from Martin
‘Buster’ Phillips and Lee Thorpe. In the second half, Carlisle pulled one back
through Zigor Aranalde, but the Gulls held on to secure an important win.
4.
Versus Macclesfield Town (H) January 24, 2004.
In the eighth minute, a corner kick from Alex Russell was
flicked on by Steve Woods towards Hilly, who, with his back to goal, opened the
scoring with a ‘bicycle kick’ over his head as United went on to win 4-1.
5.
Versus Exeter City (H) May 5, 2008, Blue Square
Premier Play-off semi-final.
The Gulls lead 2-1 on aggregate after winning the first leg
at St James Park and they led further on 58 minutes when Tim Sills crossed to
Chris Zebroski on the right, and Zebroski – in turn – rolled the back into the
path of Hill, who beat Grecians keeper Paul Jones from 10-yards with a
left-footed strike.
It was Hilly’s first goal against Exeter and on the same day
that he equalled Dennis Lewis’ club appearance record; the script seemed to
perfectly written as his effort had put United closer to reaching Wembley and
the chance to secure an immediate return to the Football League. However, it
would all go horribly wrong as the Grecians came back to win 4-1 to reach the
final against Cambridge United.
