Miss target, dropping ball (3)
I believe the answer is:
gal
'miss' is the definition.
(I know that gal is a type of miss)
'target dropping ball' is the wordplay.
'target' becomes 'goal' (goal can mean a target or aim).
'dropping' suggests deleting specific letters.
'ball' becomes 'o' (O looks like a ball).
'goal' with 'o' taken out is 'GAL'.
(Other definitions for gal that I've seen before include "measure of acceleration?" , "female noted in Kalamazoo" , "Young woman (colloq.)" , "Girl from American west" , "Broad" .)