That's pretty much my 'go-to' formation for anyone coming at me with a narrow midfield and attack (ie no ML/MR/AML/AMR players).
When you're comparing Quality, look at where the match is to be fought. 4-3N-3 is a pretty offensive formation so he should have some high-Q players amongst his MCs and STs. If you've not got the Q among your DCs and MCs to compete then you're going to lose some battles there, hence your 2-1 result - at least you won that one.