Table decoration put over drink for the unsuccessful? (7-2)
I believe the answer is:
runners-up
'the unsuccessful?' is the definition.
(people unsuccessful in winning something)
'table decoration put over drink' is the wordplay.
'table decoration' becomes 'runner' (type of fabric covering for a table).
'put over' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (in a down clue, some letters go on top of others).
'drink' becomes 'sup' (I've seen this before).
'runner'+'sup'='RUNNERS-UP'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for runners-up that I've seen before include "Those who come second" , "Silver medallists" , "Those not quite winning" , "They get silver" , "Near winners" .)