diff --git a/drivers/dma/iop-adma.c b/drivers/dma/iop-adma.c
index 434013d4128899503362e171c0bd26881684aa0f..8acbc3ab0b926d42a58dda6075555edae16e09d1 100644
--- a/drivers/dma/iop-adma.c
+++ b/drivers/dma/iop-adma.c
@@ -373,8 +373,8 @@ iop_adma_alloc_slots(struct iop_adma_chan *iop_chan, int num_slots,
 	if (!retry++)
 		goto retry;
 
-	/* try to free some slots if the allocation fails */
-	tasklet_schedule(&iop_chan->irq_tasklet);
+	/* perform direct reclaim if the allocation fails */
+	__iop_adma_slot_cleanup(iop_chan);
 
 	return NULL;
 }