Liked better umpire after last chap made a mistake (9)
I believe the answer is:
preferred
'liked better' is the definition.
('prefer' can be a synonym of 'like better')
'umpire after last chap made a mistake' is the wordplay.
'umpire' becomes 'ref' (I've seen this before).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'last' suggests the final letters.
'made a mistake' becomes 'erred' ('err' can be a synonym of 'make a mistake').
The final letter of 'chap' is 'p'.
'ref' put after 'p' is 'pref'.
'pref'+'erred'='PREFERRED'
(Other definitions for preferred that I've seen before include "Liked better" , "choice" , "Was partial to" , "Chose before others" , "singled out" .)