If success becomes a habit as the time-honoured adage suggests, then Albion are in danger of getting hooked.

The momentum that has gathered in the opening weeks of the Premier League season rolled over into the Carling Cup last night and swept the Baggies into the last 16.

Now the Hawthorns faithful are beginning to dream of genuine cup glory, as the draw opens up with Premier League heavyweights falling by the wayside.

Roberto Di Matteo’s second string gave their head coach some food for thought, as a team boasting 10 changes from the win over Birmingham pummelled their big-spending visitors throughout the evening to fully merit their passage into round four.

They might not have beaten the full might of City, as manager Roberto Mancini rang the changes with a mixture of big-money fringe players and talented youngsters taking the field.

But, by the end of a fabulously entertaining contest, there was £100million worth of City talent attempting to peg back the rampant Baggies – and the visitors came a distant second.

With Graham Dorrans driving Albion forward from midfield and full debutant Somen Tchoyi providing some exciting flair, the Baggies gave City the runaround.

They were dominant in the first half despite trailing 1-0 at half-time through Jo’s thunderbolt finish, with Shay Given in the City goal excelling.

And in the second-half the Baggies got their just rewards, as Gianni Zuiverloon and Simon Cox struck in three decisive minutes.

Earlier on, they were into their stride quickly and, after Steven Reid had seen a shot balloon over the crossbar, the Baggies fans got their first sight of Tchoyi in full flow.

The powerful Cameroon international burst onto Roman Bednar’s deft flick and surged past right-back Javan Vidal before sending a cross-shot just wide.

But there was a moment of concern for the hosts when Roque Santa Cruz got the better of Abdoulaye Meite too easily and fed overlapping left-back Greg Cunningham, but his shot flew across the six-yard box and ran to safety.

Albion held the ascendancy early on and Given had to be alert on 17 minutes, when Dorrans and Cox linked up 25 yards from goal and Dorrans’ curling drive stung the goalkeeper’s hand, with the rebound flying agonisingly past Roman Bednar.

But it was the visitors who went ahead on 19 minutes through a combination of woeful defending and clinical finishing.

Patrick Vieira’s hopeful diagonal ball was not dealt with by Meite or Zuiverloon and it dropped for Jo, who unleashed a wonderful low first-time shot past goalkeeper Boaz Myhill.

The game was highly entertaining and Given had to pull off a fine save at full stretch to keep out a Bednar shot.

Albion kept on testing Given and three times they should have been level after clever pieces of play.

Tchoyi’s excellent footwork took him away from two City defenders and his cross found Giles Barnes, who shot was saved spectacularly by Given.

Tchoyi found Bednar from the rebound and his shot was blocked on the line by Ben Mee, before Tchoyi had a shot himself and once more Given’s reflexes came to the visitors’ rescue.

Then Cox played a neat one-two with Dorrans and sprinted clear of the City defence, only to miscue his shot and send it over the bar with only Given to beat.

Then Bednar missed a fantastic chance, heading wide from five yards following a delicious cross from Dorrans.

Albion began the second-half nervously and a high ball looped over their back four for John Guidetti, whose shot was only parried by Myhill, but the goalkeeper back-pedalled to gather beneath his crossbar.

Given intervened again on 53 minutes, charging out to save from Barnes after a through ball from Bednar.

Albion finally got their equaliser amid some disgruntlement from City. Bednar’s attempted return ball to Zuiverloon was poorly hit but the full-back appeared to benefit from a body-check on Abdi Ibrahim.

Play was allowed to continue and Zuiverloon took full advantage, rifling a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Two minutes later the turnaround was complete with a goal of real quality.

A long clearance found Bednar on the edge of the box and this time the Czech completed the lay-off perfectly, with Cox driving into the box and slotting into the bottom corner.

Albion then succeeded in turning what had been a wide open game into a tight one, plugging gaps and closing down space to deny City any hope of an equaliser.

City screamed for a penalty, as Guidetti went down under a Pablo Ibanez challenge but referee Neil Swarbrick never flinched.

Despite some nervous final moments, the Baggies held firm with Myhill coming to their rescue in stoppage time when a mix-up between Zuiverloon and Reid allowed Milner a shooting chance that the goalkeeper kept out with his legs.

By Steve Madeley