Crossword Genius

Footballers getting one draw and a defeat (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

failure

'a defeat' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'footballers getting one draw' is the wordplay.
'footballers' becomes 'FA' (Football Association abbreviation).
'getting' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'draw' becomes 'lure' (both can mean to attract or entice).
'fa'+'i'+'lure'='FAILURE'

'and' is the link.

(Other definitions for failure that I've seen before include "Breakdown; flop" , "miss" , "No-hoper" , "Defeat" , "[OPPOSITE OF] success" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app