Montpellier players can thank their new shoes

Montpellier had a shambolic trip to Belgrade this weekend.

Having taken a flight from Montpellier to Paris on Saturday in order to catch a plane to Belgrade, the French team landed in Serbia only to discover that their entire luggage had been left at the airport in Paris. They had no shoes, no balls, no equipment at all.

Having first asked for the game to be pushed back, the Montpellier players headed to the city to buy some new shoes in order to be able to play on Sunday evening.

The Belgrade team lent them some balls and their away kit.

Despite the less than perfect run-up to the match, it seemed to be a lucky day for Montpellier, who won the game by three goals, prompting Nikola Karabatic to say: "It has been one of the strangest days since I started playing handball.

All the odds were against us, but we managed to win the game, which shows how strong we are mentally.

This is the first time I have played with a Serbian jersey, yes, it is a day with loads of firsts!"