Admit defeat at start of match, per article in rag (5,2,3,5)
I believe the answer is:
throw in the towel
'admit defeat' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'start of match per article in rag' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is located in the answer.
'article' could be 'the' (the definite article) and 'the' is located in the answer.
'in' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'at' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for throw in the towel that I've seen before include "admit defeat" , "Make a concession" , "Give oneself up" , "Cave in" , "Withdraw" .)