Be a match for a lofty Yankee (5)
I believe the answer is:
tally
'be a match' is the definition.
'tally' can be an answer for 'be' (tallying is a kind of being). I am not sure about the 'a match' bit.
'a lofty yankee' is the wordplay.
'a lofty' becomes 'tall' (I've seen this before).
'yankee' becomes 'y' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'tall'+'y'='TALLY'
'for' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tally that I've seen before include "Score; correspond" , "highly?" , "List" , "Mark" , "Coincide" .)