EBBW Vale captain Damien Hudd says his men will have to play better in the Grand Final against Pontypridd than they did after edging Llandovery in a Premiership play-off thriller.

A gritty Vale were deserved 20-16 winners away at Church Bank, their ferocious defence and impressive scrum helping end the Drovers’ hopes of the double after last weekend’s Swalec Cup triumph.

The Steelmen fly the flag for Gwent again this season after they lost last year’s Grand Final to Pontypridd.

They have the chance of avenging that 28-14 defeat on Sunday at Sardis Road as Ponty look to win their fifth league title in a row while Hudd’s side are on a quest for their first ever Premiership crown.

Llandovery ended Vale’s own Swalec Cup dreams at the quarter-finals stage this year and they got sweet revenge in the blazing West Wales sunshine.

Ebbw led 16-8 at the interval after a try by openside flanker Ronny Kynes from a driving lineout, a wonderful converted touchdown by wing Jared Rosser, created superbly by full-back Dan Haymond and a penalty.

They went 20-8 up in the second half after the trusty boot of Dai Langdon turned their pressure into points, the outside-half kicking three penalties and a conversion in total.

But a converted Drovers try with just over 10 minutes to go made for an uncomfortable climax.

To their credit, the Steelmen manfully kept the hosts at bay to secure a famous victory and defy the odds with many tipping a home win.

Vale lock and skipper Hudd, 35, said his side showed great character to triumph: “They make us work hard every time we play to be fair to them and we had to dig in deep at the end.

“We had to get hot and sweaty and just force the win. I think we wanted it just a bit more.”

Looking ahead to the Grand Final against Pontypridd, the Steelmen having done the double over their opponents already in the league this season, Hudd added: “That will be a cracker. We’ve beaten them a couple of times this season, but that doesn’t mean anything in a final. They are on top form and finished on top of the league for a reason.

“We’ll have to play better than we did against Llandovery to beat them.”

Vale centre Adam Jones added: “I just hope we can beat Ponty for a third time. It was a furious game and we let Llandovery back into it. We can relax a bit now, but it’s back to work on Tuesday.”