Strong point favouring team — first half (5)
I believe the answer is:
forte
'strong point' is the definition.
('forte' can be a synonym of 'strong point')
'favouring team first half' is the wordplay.
'favouring' becomes 'for' (I've seen this before).
'first half' means to take half the letters.
'team' cut in half is 'te'.
'for'+'te'='FORTE'
(Other definitions for forte that I've seen before include "In music, to be played loudly" , "Skill" , "sort of musical passage" , "Thing at which one excels" , "A thing in which someone excels" .)