“We came here for three points, we didn’t get that. From that point of view it’s disappointing.”

The home team dominated possession at Windsor Park but could not find that crucial breakthrough that would have been a springboard heading into Tuesday’s second qualifier with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

While Malta, ranked 87th in the world, celebrated at the final whistle, the hosts looked frustrated, both at the outcome and some of the decisions that did not go their way.

Late in the first half, striker Simone Magill slipped in the area, got back to her feet and poked the ball into the bottom corner.

As Magill wheeled away in celebration, referee Maria Marotta deemed she had handled the ball as she got back to her feet.

Replays suggest the Aston Villa striker did not touch the ball with her hand and the goal should have stood. When asked if it should have counted, Oxtoby simply said, “yes, it’s a goal”.

To add insult to injury, Magill appeared to be caught in the penalty area after the restart but, once again, any protests were waved away.

It was frustrating on that front but Oxtoby was the first to admit her side did not do enough in attack to earn the victory.

“It is what it is, can’t change it now,” the Australian said.

“I don’t think we did enough in the final third anyway. Those types of things can turn games, can’t they? We can’t dwell on it, we just need to pick ourselves up and move on.”

‘It’s still in our court’

The match had shades of the first leg of the Nations League play-off with Montenegro in February, where Northern Ireland dominated possession but struggled to break down their opponents.

They were rescued that day by two late goals, but there was no repeat on Friday as the compact Maltese defence stood firm in Belfast.

“It’s one of the hardest things to do in football, when teams close down your space then you have to try and move them and disrupt what they are trying to do,” Oxtoby added.

“Malta were fantastic tonight. They were really organised and came with a game plan. We knew what they were going to do but it doesn’t make it any easier to try and break it down.

“That’s a new challenge for us. They are obviously ecstatic with a point and so they should be. We need to be better and take it as a compliment that teams are starting to do that against us.

“But we also need to be understanding our timing and movement in the final third, and how we can disrupt that a little bit better.”

Oxtoby added Northern Ireland do not have time to lick their wounds, with a quick turnaround for Tuesday’s game in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The new format of Euro 2025 qualifying, where the top three sides earn a play-off, ensures Northern Ireland’s fate is still in their hands. However, the room for future slip ups is now limited.

“It’s the first game. Anything can happen and from our point of view the ball is still in our court.

“There are positives from tonight. The playing group is disappointed, I’m disappointed but we’re very optimistic because we can see progress.

“We need to keep building on that and Tuesday is another good opportunity to do that.”