Tottenham substitute Jamie O'Hara scored one goal and set up two others to lead the defending League Cup champion to a 4-1 win over Burnley in the first-leg semifinal on Tuesday.

Spurs played poorly in the first half and trailed the League Championship promotion contender from the 15th minute, but O'Hara replaced the ineffective David Bentley at halftime and within two minutes hit a corner kick for Michael Dawson to head in. Five minutes later the midfielder shot through goalkeeper Brian Jensen's legs.

Roman Pavlyuchenko added a third goal in the 65th and moments later Burnley defender Michael Duff headed a free kick by O'Hara past his own goalkeeper.

"At halftime, you could not see that result coming for sure," Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said.

"But at halftime, I got into them big time and sorted a few of them out really because I was disappointed with that first half."

The victory meant English Premier League struggler Tottenham was still favorite to reach the March 1 final against either Manchester United or Derby, who play the first leg of their semifinal on Wednesday. The second legs are in two weeks.

"I wouldn't say it's a mountain to climb," Burnley manager Owen Coyle said. "It's a wee bit more than that. It's a long way back but we'll go and try and be positive."

Tottenham's hold on the trophy it has won four times looked shaky throughout the first half as Burnley, which beat Arsenal, Chelsea and Fulham to reach this stage, looked more like a Premier League team than its opponent.

Bentley played poorly out of position on the left wing, Aaron Lennon crossed erratically from the right, Gareth Bale was shaky in defense and the strikers struggled to force any openings. Burnley, meanwhile, threatened constantly, particularly down the right wing through former Manchester United trainee Chris Eagles.

O'Hara's introduction changed the game, though, giving the home fans in the 31,377-strong White Hart Lane crowd something to cheer other than the pre-match presentation of new signing Jermain Defoe.

After setting up Dawson for his goal, O'Hara collected a headed flick by Luka Modric, who had been one of Spurs' few good first-half performers, and scored with a low shot at the far post.

Robbie Blake curled a shot just over at the other end and goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes almost gave Burnley an equalizer with an ill-judged and unsuccessful effort to claim the ball, but Pavlyuchenko shimmied past defender Clarke Carlisle on the edge of the visitors' area and finished with a low shot past Jensen.

The score was made even more one-sided in the 68th when Duff failed to properly direct an attempted headed clearance and instead made it 4-1.

But it was Burnley and Eagles who had the best early chances, and he set up Martin Paterson for the opening goal.

Eagles easily got past left-back Bale to cross and Paterson tapped in from close range past the diving Gomes. It could have been 2-0 nine minutes later when Paterson glanced a header wide from another cross by Eagles.

"The first-half performance we were delighted with," Coyle said. "We looked a very good side and scored a very good goal. I don't think anyone would have foreseen what happened in the second half.

"There certainly wasn't three goals between the teams tonight but that's what happens when you play against sides at the highest level."