If any team deserves their place in the last 16 of the FA Vase, it’s Ipswich Wanderers.

Glen Read’s side finally progressed to a home clash with Bowers & Pitsea this weekend, after deservedly defeating Bodmin Town, 3-1, at the fourth round stage in Cornwall, on Saturday.

Wanderers won at the third attempt, the game having been twice postponed due to the inclement weather – two proposed 700-mile round trips to Cornwall being cancelled the day before the match.

Victory on Saturday did not go without incident though, Wanderers – minus two or three players due to work commitments – arriving in the driving west country rain an hour later than scheduled, the night before the game, as a result of their coach breaking down.

Add to that the fact that Wanderers were facing a team that had lost just once in league and cup all season, with a strikeforce boasting more than 60 goals between them, and the odds were stacked against the Suffolk side

However, victory was forthcoming and now Wanderers, who entertain Stanway Rovers in the Thurlow Nunn Premier tomorrow, will host Oxfordshire side Kidlington on February 20, if they overcome Bowers & Pitsea.

The competition is approaching the business end and while Read would have preferred to have progressed without the disruption, the Vase run will not be one he forgets in a hurry.

“The coach broke down after the door stopped working, so that was not great, and a few of the lads had to travel down in a seven-seater vehicle because they could not get off work on time,” said Read.

“Two or three of the lads were unavailable for the game too and we were unable to spend too much time together as a squad the night before as we had to wait an hour for a replacement coach, although we had breakfast together on the morning of the game.”

Despite the travel disruption and the prospect of a heavily-congested league fixture list ahead of them – Wanderers have a huge eight games in hand on Fakenham for instance – Read’s men put in a sterling performance to keep the flag flying for Suffolk.

After going a goal down, Ben Deacon had a goal ruled out by the officials.

However it was Deacon’s cross which led to Jack Severy’s equaliser, and the Suffolk side led at half time thanks to a Ross Myhill volley.

The game was made safe with a well-taken penalty from Tom Bradlaugh.

Read enthused: “I am very proud of the team, especially after the weekend and a long wait to get the game on.

“Even up to Saturday morning we weren’t sure the game was going to go ahead as it had all the way down, but fortunately we were able to play.”

He added: “Bodmin were flying and with the weather and pitch, it was going to be an unknown quantity for us.

“They had a couple of chances before they scored, but we equalised almost immediately after deciding we would try and keep it tight if we went a goal behind in the first half.

“We then scored a second before half time and played better in the second period and Bodmin said we fully deserved our victory.”