PRAGUE, March 14 (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund packed a tight defence to hold off several charges by Czech underdogs Slovan Liberec and earn a scoreless draw in the first leg of their UEFA Cup quarter-final on Thursday.

Borussia's Czech tandem of midfielder Tomas Rosicky and striker Jan Koller looked at home playing in Prague -- the tie was moved to Sparta Prague's ground after UEFA officials deemed Liberec's own unplayable -- but rarely ventured forward.

The German side, chasing their first trophy since becoming European champions in 1997, managed only three shots on goal for the game.

Liberec started tentatively but with Borussia making space in midfield, began to press forward slowly.

Their best scoring chance came in the 36th minute when Jiri Stajner's clever backheel found Jan Nezmar, but the striker knew as soon as the ball left his foot that it was going to sail harmlessly over the net.

Liberec kept up the pressure in the second half and may come to rue the missed chances, putting five shots wide and only three on target despite dominating much of the game.

"They were definitely the better team in the second half, we knew they would play aggressively and they did," said Koller, who played for Sparta Prague for one season.

"We would have liked a goal here, but the key was not to give up any chances so this is not a bad result for us."

In one of the few forays into Liberec territory, Sunday Oliseh's free kick came dangerously close to breaking the deadlock in the 75th minute when it glanced off Steiner and headed towards the far post.

But a diving Antonin Kinsky preserved Liberec's unblemished scoresheet.

"They showed their quality on the back line. We couldn't get through it as we would have liked. But we head into Dortmund feeling good," said Liberec coach Ladislav Skorpil.

"We know that mathematically, we need one goal. Even a 1-1 draw will put us through."