Valerien Ismael had made eight changes to his Blackburn side with two debutants and two players making their first start as they battle injuries and poor form in the league on the back of one win in their previous 10 league games and they used seven players aged 22 and under across the whole match.
The Tigers, only outside the play-offs on goal difference, had made five alterations, which including losing Matt Crooks in the warm-up.
They then suffered a further setback inside the opening 10 minutes as Darko Gyabi, who has featured in all but one league game since joining the club in September, went off with what appeared to be a serious injury as he tried to turn.
In a tepid first half, the only chance came in the final note of stoppage time as Rovers goalkeeper Balazs Toth, back after two months out with a knee injury, made a smothering save from Canada winger Liam Millar.
The second period was little better as neither side showed enough quality to prevent what felt like the inevitable arrival of extra time.
Toth made a good save from Oli McBurnie’s header before Akintola crashed the rebound off the bar in the match’s best moment, while Phillips was finally called into action when he had to tip over a misdirected cross from Axel Henriksson.
But his penalty saves ensured the Tigers will be in the hat on Monday evening, whereas Rovers are left to concentrate on avoiding relegation.