Northern Ireland changed their form at half-time after a passive display in the first half.
Chloe McCarron was introduced by Danielle Maxwell in the second half and added more steel and aggression to a midfield that was overrun in the opening 45 minutes, with the brilliant Graham Hansen elusive.
“I thought in the second half we came out more aggressive and on the front foot and had more possession of the ball,” Oxtoby continued.
“We changed the shape a little to be better with the ball, Maxi came out, it wasn’t because he had done something wrong, we wanted to change the shape and put more pressure on the ball.
“I think the players were excellent with their tactical flexibility and closing the spaces that Norway was trying to exploit.”
Oxtoby admitted the goals conceded by Northern Ireland were disappointing but felt the match would be a steep learning curve for his team.
“They are a great team, they will give you problems, so we just have to learn and grow from that,” he added.
“I thought going into the break in the position they gave us at the beginning, that allowed us to be positive in the second half.”
Heading into the second leg in Oslo, with his hopes of reaching a second consecutive European Championship almost over, Oxtoby is focused on improving his team’s performance.
“It’s a really good challenge on a big field against a big team,” he said. “It’s the same approach we had in this game, it’s about us and the bigger picture we need to continue to grow and learn quickly against a good team.
“It’s about our performance on Tuesday night, we have standards to maintain, we won’t be able to take our foot off the accelerator.”
