Robins land last season’s Peacehaven captain to strengthen their backline
Hassocks have added a wealth of experience to their backline with the signing of Peacehaven & Telscombe captain Alex Bygraves.
A natural born leader with a first-class attitude and remarkable resilience, Bygraves has also skippered Haywards Heath Town and Lancing and overcome a number of serious injury setbacks throughout his career.
He first came to prominence at Hanbury Park, captaining the Blues to promotion from Southern Combination League Division Two in the 2012-13 season and a trophy double of Division Two Cup and Sussex Intermediate Cup.
Heath beat Hurstpierpoint 3-0 in the final of the first of those competitions. The second saw a 2-1 extra time win over Hassocks Reserves, a result which denied Roy Staughton’s side a quadruple.
Bygraves moved to Lancing in the summer of 2014. His first two seasons were injury plagued with a fractured foot and an MCL, although he was part of the Lancers squad who ended a 23 year wait for senior silverware when beating Newhaven 2-1 in the Peter Bentley League Cup final at the Beacon in 2016.
He enjoyed several problem-free campaigns after that, becoming a huge fan favourite with the Lancing faithful and one of the first names on the team sheet for a succession of managers at Culver Road, including John Sharman and Mark Pulling who named him their captain.
Bygraves was having another outstanding campaign under Naim Rouane in 2019-20, helping establish Lancing as the Premier Division’s long-term leaders until a horror leg break sidelined him again.
Lancing were top of the table when Covid-19 curtailed the 2019-20 season. Bygraves was still recovering from his injury when the 2020-21 campaign was also brought to a premature end, after which he decided to move to pastures new with the Lancers headed for the Isthmian League. He ended his career at Culver Road with 184 appearances to his name.
With a host of teams clamouring for his signature, Bygraves subsequently signed for Peacehaven last summer. He soon assumed the armband at yet another club and went onto enjoy an excellent campaign, playing 34 times and scoring four goals. The Tye finished eighth in the Premier Division
Welcome to the Beacon, Alex.
